Police investigating matters raised in Law Society’s audit report about workplace complaints

SINGAPORE – The police are investigating certain matters raised in a report by the Law Society of Singapore’s (LawSoc) audit committee, the society informed its members in an e-mail update on Sept 21.

The e-mail, which The Straits Times saw, added that the police also told LawSoc not to further publish or distribute the contents of the report or comment on these matters, pending the conclusion of police investigations.

The audit committee’s report detailed its findings on matters that allegedly occurred in the society between 2022 and 2025, including inappropriate workplace conduct, weaknesses in governance and oversight, deficiencies in grievance handling and whistleblowing processes, and shortcomings in internal controls over certain administrative and financial practices.

This latest update comes a month after the society told members on Aug 20 that it would release the full report after a redaction process to honour the promise of confidentiality to the interviewees.

ST has contacted the police for more information.

LawSoc said it has no comment at this time.

Lawyers who spoke to ST believe the police investigations may cover allegations of inappropriate conduct by a former senior employee.

The audit committee’s investigation arose from an anonymous e-mail sent to the Ministry of Law (MinLaw) and the Ministry of Manpower on Sept 13, 2025.

MinLaw sent the e-mail to the LawSoc council, which appointed the society’s audit committee to carry out an independent investigation and make appropriate recommendations.

The committee sent its report to the council on June 5, and the council sent a copy of the report to MinLaw on July 1.

On July 23, without releasing the report, the council said in an e-mail to members that it resolved to implement governance reforms and gave a brief account relating to certain allegations.

On Aug 5, in a written parliamentary reply, Law Minister Edwin Tong said while the audit did not find evidence of deliberate financial impropriety or an intentional cover-up, it nevertheless identified significant failings in leadership, workplace culture and governance during the relevant period.

On Aug 13, at a tense closed-door dialogue attended by about 200 members, lawyers called for the full disclosure of the report as well as relevant investigation material.

One of the issues raised at the meeting concerned the handling of allegations that a former senior employee had acted inappropriately towards female colleagues, with lawyers questioning why the allegations were not referred to the police.

The next day, the Law Minister said in a statement that the LawSoc should make available to members the relevant reports with appropriate redactions to protect the interviewees.

On Aug 20, the LawSoc said in an e-mail update to its members that it will release the report after the redaction process is completed.

On Sept 22, when asked about the latest update that criminal investigations are ongoing, lawyer Clarence Lun told The Straits Times: “The Law Society should long have asked that the police carry out the investigation, and not wait until now.”