The founder of news site Wake Up Singapore (WUSG), Mr Ariffin Sha, can be admitted to the Bar despite his criminal conviction over an untrue story about a miscarriage at KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital that was published on the site’s online channels.
Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon said this on Aug 8 in written grounds of decision regarding Mr Ariffin’s application for admission to the Bar, as well as that of two other law graduates.
The three applications are so-called “legacy cases” that came before the Chief Justice owing to new admission rules that came into effect on July 17, 2024.
The Chief Justice had declined to impose any period of deferment on Mr Ariffin and considered that he was fit and proper for admission to the Bar.
The other two, Mr Aaron Foo Zhong Yu and Mr Harish Rai, were found not fit and proper to be admitted to the Bar on account of their character.
Regarding Mr Ariffin, Chief Justice Menon said his offence of criminal defamation was not one that involved dishonesty.
It has not been shown that Mr Ariffin was aware that the story was false when he published the article, said the Chief Justice.
Rather, Mr Ariffin had failed to exercise due care to ascertain the veracity of the story before he published it.
Chief Justice Menon noted that Mr Ariffin acted quickly to apologise to KKH for publishing the false story, and also took public accountability for having been deceived by the woman who had submitted the fake story.
He said Mr Ariffin’s offence was not so serious that his admission to the Bar would undermine public confidence in the legal profession and the administration of justice.
The Chief Justice noted that Mr Ariffin had taken positive steps to “re-establish his suitability for legal practice” after he was found to have committed the offence.
Mr Ariffin supported lawyers in pro bono and community work as a legal executive and has also showed remorse throughout the admission proceedings, added Chief Justice Menon.
The offence
On March 21, 2022, a woman submitted a fake story to WUSG, claiming that she was forced to wait four hours before seeing a doctor and suffered a miscarriage at KKH.
Mr Ariffin responded to the woman, Ms Ma Su Nandar Htwe, and asked for documents to support her claims. She sent him a medical receipt from KKH.
At about 8.30pm on March 23, 2022, Mr Ariffin e-mailed KKH to say that WUSG intended to run the story.
He published the story 20 minutes later, before the hospital could reply.
On March 25, 2022, KKH lodged a police report against WUSG. Two hours later, he removed the story from WUSG’s online platforms.
After the woman admitted that the story was fabricated, Mr Ariffin published a retraction and issued a public apology to KKH.
On Aug 26, 2024, he was fined $8,000 for a charge of criminal defamation.
Chief Justice Menon noted that in Mr Ariffin’s first supporting affidavit for his admission application filed on Jan 4, 2024, he disclosed that he was assisting the police with investigations relating to the publication of the article.
On Nov 8, 2024, Mr Ariffin voluntarily disclosed that he had received two conditional warnings for taking part in an assembly without a permit in Hong Lim Park in 2014, and for his participation in a candlelight vigil outside Changi Prison in 2018.
The Attorney-General and the Singapore Institute of Legal Education objected to Mr Ariffin’s admission application because they considered him not capable of being entrusted to aid in the administration of justice as a lawyer without the risk of undermining public confidence.
They submitted that his application should be adjourned to Aug 26.
Chief Justice Menon decided that it was not necessary to adjourn his application and directed that his application for admission may be set down for hearing.
Mr Ariffin was a member of Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) team that contested Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC during the 2025 General Election.
The SDP team got 26.52 per cent of the votes against 73.48 per cent garnered by the PAP slate led by Prime Minister Lawrence Wong.
Selina Lum for The Straits Times
Chief Justice allows Wake Up Singapore founder to be called to the Bar despite KKH fake news conviction
