Wee Chong Jin JC:

On 30 March 1979 Parliament passed the Legal Profession (Amendment) Act 1979. It was assented to by the President on 26 April 1979 but did not come into operation until 15 October 1979. Inter alia,the amending Act amended s. 30(1) of the Legal Profession Act by the addition of paras. (d), (e) and (f). These additions prohibited a solicitor from applying for a practising certificate:

(d) if he is an undischarged bankrupt or a receiving order in bankruptcy is an force against him; or

(e) if he has entered into a composition with his creditors or a deed of arrangement for the benefit of his creditors; or

(f) if he has one or more outstanding judgments against him amounting in the aggregate to one hundred thousand dollars or more which he has been unable to satisfy within six months from the date of the earliest judgment.

The amending Act also repealed s. 52and enacted a new s. 52 which provided for compulsory voting in the election of the members of the Council of the Law Society.

After these amendments had come into effect the Registrar of the Supreme Court, before the close of the practice year ending 31 March 1980, wrote to the President of the Law Society informing him that by virtue of r. 8 of the Solicitors Practising Certificate Rules 1970 he required all applicants for a practising certificate to execute a statutory declaration in the form annexed to his letter. The form annexed to his letter. The form was as follows:

The Statutory Declaration

Act (Chapter 13)

Statutory Declaration

I ...

NRIC/Passport No. ... Occupation ...

Address ...

do solemnly and sincerely declare that:

1. I am not disqualified by s. 30(1), (d), (e) or (f) of the Legal Profession Act(Cap. 217) from applying for a practising certificate for the year ending 31 March 19...; and

2. *(a) I voted at the last election of members to the Council of the Law Society of Singapore.

OR

*(b) I did not vote at the last election of members to the Council of the Law Society of Singapore.

(* Delete where appropriate)

and I make this solemn declaration conscientiously believing the same to be true and by virtue of the provisions of the Statutory Declaration Act 1835.

...

(Signature of Declarant)

Declared before me at Singapore

this ... day of ... 19 ...

Justice of the Peace, Notary Public or other officer empowered by law to administer oaths, affirmations, or affidavits.

The Registrar required from every applicant for a practising certificate a statutory declaration because of the new provisions of s. 30(1)(d), (e) and (f) and s. 52(2) of the Act.

Pursuant to the letter from the Registrar the Secretary of the Law Society sent a circular dated 19 March 1980 to all its members informing them of the Registrar's requirement and attached to the circular the form of the statutory declaration that the Registrar required.

On 29 March 1980, Mr. Francis T. Seow, the respondent in this appeal, an advocate and solicitor and a member of the Law Society of Singapore appeared before Mr. C.C. Tan, also an advocate and solicitor and who was also a Commissioner for Oaths, and made a statutory declaration in the form prescribed by the Registrar.

In his statutory declaration the respondent "solemnly and sincerely" declared that he was not disqualified bys. 30(1)(f)from applying for a practising certificate for the year ending 31 March 1981. In fact, he was disqualified as there was then outstanding against him a judgment debt well in excess of $100,000.00

Mr. Tan Seck Sam, the then Assistant Registrar of the Supreme Court, received the respondent's application for a practising certificate for the year ending 31 March 1981 including the statutory declaration sometime towards the end of March 1980 and issued a practising certificate to the respondent.

On 1 September 1981 the respondent appeared before a District Court and claimed trial to the following charge:

You, Francis T. Seow, m/52 yrs I.C.1112608-A

are charged that you, on or about 31 day of March 1980 at the