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SINGAPORE: It has been about 13 years since the 67-year-old was last a part of the law firm he had founded. Now, Mr Kalpanath Singh hopes to be reunited with Messrs Kalpanath and Co, currently managed by his daughter and her husband.

To do that, he must get the Court of Three Judges' permission — and overcome the Attorney-General's objection to his reinstatement as a lawyer.

Mr Singh was struck off the rolls in 1996 after he was found guilty of cheating his client a decade earlier.

That he has waited a long time before asking for reinstatement should count in Mr Singh's favour, said his lawyer Abraham Vergis in the application to the court.

The decision to give him back his practising certificate may hinge, however, on the severity of his two offences.

In 1987 and 1998, Mr Singh had asked a client, who ran a video rental business, for $5,000 on two occasions. While the ex-lawyer had maintained that these were for legal fees or costs, the client said she was told the sums were for refundable court deposits, which she eventually learnt did not exist.

Mr Singh was acquitted in the Subordinate Court after a 107-day trial, but was found guilty and sentenced to 18 months' jail for each charge by then-Chief Justice Yong Pung How after the prosecution had appealed.

The Attorney-General is objecting to his reinstatement in order to maintain public confidence in the legal profession.

Mr Singh's application, Principal Senior State Counsel Jeffrey Chan noted on Wednesday, was premature because more proof that he is worthy to be reinstalled as a member of the Bar was needed.

Mr Singh's act of using the court as a vehicle for committing the offences, he added, was "totally heinous".

The Law Society's representative K Anparasan agreed there had been a substantial passage of time since Mr Singh's convictions, and is supporting his application — if he fulfils certain conditions and restrictions upon returning to practice.

Mr Vergis hopes the familial support in his erstwhile law firm will also be an effective safeguard.

Mr Singh also gave his undertaking to attend a Legal Practice Management Course within a year — one of the conditions sought by the Law Society.

The judges will deliver their decision at a later date.