M Ravi

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M Ravi
ரவி மாடசாமி
Born
Ravi Madasamy

1969[citation needed]
Singapore
EducationBachelor of Laws
Alma materNational University of Singapore,
Cardiff University
OccupationLawyer, Activist, Writer
Known foradvocacy of human rights in Singapore
Notable work
Land of Good English (2004)
Hung at Dawn (2005)
M Ravi: Kampong Boy (2013)

Ravi Madasamy (Tamil: ரவி மாடசாமி; born 1969),[citation needed] better known as M Ravi, is a Singaporean lawyer, activist and writer best known for his involvement in numerous high-profile court cases related to human rights issues in Singapore, including the death penalty, freedom of expression, LGBT rights and voting rights.[1][2][3] He also stood for election during the 2015 general election by joining a six-member Reform Party team contesting in Ang Mo Kio GRC against the governing People's Action Party, but they lost after garnering just 21.36% of the vote.[4]

Background[]

Ravi was born in Singapore in 1969 to Indian Singaporean parents of Tamil descent. After graduating with a bachelor's degree in sociology and political science from the National University of Singapore, he went on to read law at Cardiff University and obtained a Bachelor of Laws.[5]

Legal career[]

As a lawyer, Ravi is known for his aggressive and somewhat discursive courtroom style.[6] He defended the accused in many high-profile death penalty cases, including Public Prosecutor v Shanmugam s/o Murugesu (2004), Public Prosecutor v Iwuchukwu Amara Tochi and Another (2006) and Yong Vui Kong v Public Prosecutor (2009-2015), the latter of which raised other legal issues concerning human rights, including the constitutionality of judicial caning, as well as the reviewability of the clemency process and the exercise of prosecutorial discretion.[7][8] He has also argued other landmark human rights cases such as Shadrake v Attorney-General (2011) on freedom of expression and contempt of court, Tan Eng Hong v Attorney-General (2012) on gay rights and decriminalisation of homosexuality, and Vellama d/o Marie Muthu v. Attorney-General (2013) on voting rights, amongst others. In 2015, he defended Roy Ngerng in a defamation lawsuit initiated by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

Ravi acted for John Tan, vice president of the opposition Singapore Democratic Party, in an application for a declaration that his contempt of court conviction did not disqualify him from standing for elections. He acted for eight employees of SBS Transit against the public transport operator over breach of employment terms relating to wages, and defended Daniel de Costa, who is accused of defaming members of the Cabinet in an article published on The Online Citizen. Ravi has also been instructed by at least 12 inmates on death row whose clemency petitions had been rejected, among them Norasharee Gous and Gobi Avedian, who were the second and third cases in Singapore's legal history which the Court of Appeal had agreed to reopen and review.

Political career[]

During the 2015 general election, Ravi joined a six-member Reform Party team contesting in Ang Mo Kio Group Representation Constituency (GRC) against a six-member team from the governing People's Action Party (PAP).[9] The Reform Party team ultimately lost to the PAP team after garnering just 21.36% of the vote.[10][4]

Controversies[]

2015 suspension[]

In 2015, the Law Society of Singapore issued a direction to Ravi to temporarily cease his legal practice. In response, Ravi and three companions appeared at the Law Society's premises, where he made inappropriate statements and acted in an unruly manner, which were recorded in a video clip that was later published on social media.[11] The direction was based on the Law Society's concerns that the state of Ravi's mental condition impaired his fitness to practise law.[12] The Court of Appeal then affirmed that decision and ordered Ravi be prohibited from applying for a practising certificate for a period of two years and to continue to seek medical help.[11]

2017 assault case[]

On 8 August 2017, Ravi assaulted fellow lawyer and opposition politician Jeannette Chong-Aruldoss at , causing her to sustain a bruised hip. Court documents revealed that Ravi had gone to The Adelphi and demanded to be allowed inside Eugene Thuraisingam's law firm, where Chong-Aruldoss was working then. He had stopped her abruptly and began questioning her aggressively. When she tried to walk away, he forcefully pushed her twice, causing her to stumble backwards and fall onto the ground. After she was down, he kicked and flung her belongings scattered on the ground, and also threw a shoe in her direction while mocking her for being 'drama'.[13] On 5 January 2018, in lieu of a jail term, Ravi was ordered to undergo an 18-month mandatory treatment for his bipolar disorder, which had led to him committing the offence, among others.[14]

2019 attacks on prosecutors and a judge[]

On 23 July 2019, Ravi issued a media statement at a press conference in Kuala Lumpur, making unsupported attacks on the impartiality and integrity of state prosecutors and alleging that senior district judge Bala Reddy was biased against defence psychiatrists. Although he apologised and withdrew the statement later, Ravi still contested the charges he faced at a disciplinary tribunal hearing in March 2020. On 19 September 2020, the tribunal determined that Ravi should be ordered to pay a penalty of at least S$10,000 for the unsupported attacks. The tribunal also found Ravi guilty of two charges of misconduct under the Legal Profession Act.[15]

2020 Gobi Avedian case[]

In October 2020, Ravi alleged that there was a "miscarriage of justice" and that prosecutors had been "overzealous" in their prosecution of Gobi Avedian, a convicted drug runner who had initially been given the death penalty, but later re-sentenced to a jail term and caning. In response, the Attorney-General's Chambers rebutted Ravi's claims and said that he should apologise and retract his comments,[16] which he did not. In November 2020, he filed a civil suit on Gobi's behalf against Attorney-General Lucien Wong, two Deputy Attorneys-General and five prosecutors, alleging that they had abused their powers and acted in bad faith, resulting in harm to Gobi. The Attorney-General's Chambers disputed Ravi's claims and said that they had filed a disciplinary complaint to the Law Society of Singapore against him for possible professional misconduct.[17]

2020 defamation case[]

On 16 December 2020, Ravi was charged with criminal defamation after he published a post on his Facebook page, alleging that fellow lawyer Eugene Thuraisingam had told him that Law Minister K. Shanmugam had said that he wielded significant influence over Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon. After Ravi's post was published, Thuraisingam wrote to Shanmugam, saying that Ravi's claim was completely untrue. On 3 March 2021, the Attorney-General's Chambers announced that they had decided to discontinue the criminal proceedings against Ravi and issue him a conditional warning after he agreed to delete the post and publish an apology and an undertaking not to repeat the allegations.[18]

2021 Syed Suhail case[]

On 14 May 2021, the Court of Appeal ordered Ravi to pay S$5,000 to the prosecution after they found that he had acted improperly in making an "unmeritorious" bid to reopen the case of convicted drug trafficker Syed Suhail Syed Zin, whom Ravi had represented pro bono. The court said that Ravi had brought an application without any real basis, misrepresented certain facts in his affidavit, and made baseless allegations against Syed Suhail's former lawyer without giving him a chance to respond.[19]

List of publications[]

  • Land of Good English (2004)
  • Hung at Dawn (2005)[5]
  • M Ravi: Kampong Boy (2013)[5]

References[]

  1. ^ Loh, Andrew (31 August 2018). "M Ravi Heads Afield but Heart Remains with Spore". The Independent. Singapore. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
  2. ^ "Singapore: Discontinue disciplinary action against lawyer M. Ravi | Letter". Lawyers' Rights Watch Canada. 12 August 2015. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
  3. ^ "Letter to Law Society of Singapore on Hearing Against Lawyer M. Ravi". New York: Human Rights Watch. 27 August 2015. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
  4. ^ a b "2015 PARLIAMENTARY GENERAL ELECTION RESULTS". Elections Department Singapore. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  5. ^ a b c "M Ravi". Good Reads. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
  6. ^ "Singapore Justice in the Dock Indeed". Asia Sentinel. Hong Kong. 19 October 2010. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
  7. ^ Olukoya, Sam (27 July 2016). "Death Penalty No Outrage for Nigerians in Singapore". Rome. Inter Press Service.
  8. ^ Lee, Amanda (14 November 2013). "Death penalty lifted for Yong Vui Kong". Today. Singapore. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
  9. ^ Cheong, Danson (28 August 2015). "GE2015: Reform Party unveils final slate of candidates; M. Ravi to lead Ang Mo Kio GRC team". The Straits Times. Singapore. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
  10. ^ Lee Min Kok (12 September 2015). "GE2015: PM Lee's team wins Ang Mo Kio GRC with 78.6 per cent of votes". The Straits Times. Singapore. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
  11. ^ a b "The Law Society of Singapore v Ravi s/o Madasamy [2016] SGHC" (PDF). Supreme Court of Singapore. 30 September 2016. Retrieved 28 February 2019.
  12. ^ migration (11 February 2015). "Lawyer M Ravi makes a scene at Law Society office". The Straits Times. Retrieved 15 February 2019.
  13. ^ "M. Ravi admits to assaulting lawyer Jeannette Chong-Aruldoss". The Straits Times. 27 November 2017. Retrieved 11 November 2021.
  14. ^ Wong, Pei Ting (5 January 2018). "M. Ravi ordered to undergo 18-month mental treatment after assault on fellow lawyer". Today. Retrieved 11 November 2021.
  15. ^ Vijayan, K.C. (19 September 2020). "M. Ravi faces $10k penalty for attacks on prosecutors, judge". The Straits Times. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  16. ^ hermesauto (19 October 2020). "AGC rebuts lawyer M. Ravi's claims that prosecutors were 'overzealous' in prosecuting death-row inmate". The Straits Times. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  17. ^ Lum, Selina (5 November 2020). "Drug runner who escaped gallows sues A-G, deputy A-Gs and prosecutors to seek damages". The Straits Times. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  18. ^ Lum, Selina (3 March 2021). "AGC drops criminal defamation charge against lawyer M. Ravi, issues conditional warning". The Straits Times. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  19. ^ Lum, Selina (14 May 2021). "Apex court orders lawyer M. Ravi to pay $5,000 in costs for improper conduct". The Straits Times. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
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