How many lawyers or citizens have sued the Government, in the last 11 years?
I refer to the article “Legal curbs imposed on lawyer M. Ravi” (Straits Times, Oct 13).
It states that “Non-practising lawyer M. Ravi, 48, has been barred from instituting legal proceedings against the government, the Attorney-General or the public prosecutor without the High Court’s permission.
The Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) applied to prevent what it said was abuse of the court process through his past legal actions under Section 74 of the Supreme Court of Judicature Act at the High Court on Wednesday .
In a statement yesterday, the AGC spokesman said: “Mr M. Ravi has, over the course of 11 years – since 2006 – habitually and persistently, and without any reasonable ground, instituted… vexatious legal proceedings against the Government, the Attorney-General and the public prosecutor.””
In support of “has been barred from instituting legal proceedings against the government, the Attorney-General or the public prosecutor without the High Court’s permission”, it may be good to provide the following statistics:-
Did Mr M Ravi succeed in any of his suits against the Government?
How many suits have been filed by Mr M Ravi against the Government?
What is the ratio of Mr M Ravi’s successful to unsuccessful suits?
How many suits in total (including those by other people) have been filed against the Government, in the last 11 years?
What is the ratio of the total successful to unsuccessful suits, by everyone?
What is the percentage of Mr M Ravi’s suits, compared to all the suits, in the last 11 years?
How much money did Mr M Ravi spend on all the suits?
How much did it cost the Government to defend against Mr M Ravi’s suits?
Is this not in a sense – a waste of taxpayers’ money?
If a suit against the Government is not successful – does the plaintiff have to pay some or all of the costs of the Government?
How many other lawyers or citizens have sued the Government, in the last 11 years?
How many times before, has the AGC applied to require a lawyer or citizen to get permission from the High Court first, before he or she can sue the Government?
As a layman – I would like to ask – since Mr M Ravi’s license to practice law has been suspended – does it mean that he cannot sue the Government, in the meantime, until his license is reinstated?
Or does it mean that any citizen can sue the Government?
If so, how many citizens have sued the Government, in the last 11 years?
And roughly, what is the average cost of such an action, to sue the Government?
Leong Sze Hian
