Judge chides lawyer for convoluted mitigation filled with grammar errors

A judge chided a criminal lawyer for the poor quality of a written mitigation plea the latter submitted to the court on behalf of a client who admitted to a cheating charge.

- Samuel Devaraj

In a judgment dated Nov 11, District Judge Lim Tse Haw said he told Mr A. Revi Shanker that his mitigation was "so convoluted and verbose" and filled with grammatical errors that he had difficulty understanding what the lawyer was trying to submit.

The judge added: "Lawyers and prosecutors would do well to prepare their written submissions in plain English and an easy-to-read manner. This would save much valuable judicial time in reading and understanding the submissions."

In order to understand the mitigation, he asked Mr Shanker to make an oral presentation in court.

Mr Shanker's client Jeremy Francis Cruez was sentenced to six months' jail in October. The 60-year-old Sri Lankan national had admitted to cheating his former employer, Major's Pest Management Services. The prosecution had asked for a jail term of between 14 and 16 months, while Mr Shanker asked for a fine.

Both sides appealed against the sentence, but court records show that Cruez has since discontinued his appeal.