Contact Details

Email : josephustan@patrick.com.sg
DDI : (65) 6645 4504

Background

Josephus Tan is a Senior Associate in our Private Client Practice Group. He specialises in criminal defence litigation and has been involved in defence work at all levels of the Singapore’s courts including the Military Court of Appeal.

Josephus obtained his LL.B. (Hons) at the University of Southampton. Whilst at Southampton, he served as an international student representative to the university’s law society and was also elected as the President of the United Kingdom Singapore Law Students Society (UKSLSS) during which the Singapore Legal Forum was inaugurated. Upon graduation, he completed his pupillage with Singapore’s renowned criminal lawyer, Mr. Subhas Anandan.

Josephus is an appointed Assisting Counsel under the Supreme Court’s Legal Assistance Scheme for Capital Offences (LASCO) and volunteers actively with the Criminal Legal Aid Scheme (CLAS) and the Community Legal Clinic operated by the Law Society of Singapore.

In 2010, he was awarded the CLAS Gold Award by the Law Society of Singapore in recognition of his prolific pro bono contributions.

Josephus joined the Firm in 2009 and speaks fluent English, Mandarin, Hokkien, Teochew and Cantonese.


Experience

Some of Josephus’ notable capital work (for murder) includes the following:

• Public Prosecutor v Soh Wee Kian:
  - (currently in progress) involving the attempted murder of three women and murder of a woman also widely known as the ‘Woodlands Slasher’ case.
• Public Prosecutor v Ong Seng Chuen:
  - (currently in progress) involving the murder of an elderly man during a robbery in 1989.
• Public Prosecutor v Lee Beng Chuan:
  - secured reduction to a non-capital nature for the killing of a 70 year old man at People Park’s Complex OG Food Centre.
• Public Prosecutor v Mohd Johan Bin Rashid:
  - assisted and secured reduction to a non-capital nature for the killing of a 6 year old boy at Mei Ling Street.
• Public Prosecutor v Madhuri Jaya Chandra Reddy:
  - assisted and secured reduction to a non-capital nature for the killing of a 7 month pregnant prostitute at Geylang Lorong 18.

Some of Josephus’ notable capital work (for drug trafficking) includes the following:

• Public Prosecutor v Kang Bong Je:
  - (currently in progress) involving the conspiracy between three Korean and four Nepalese nationals to export diamorphine for the purpose of trafficking.
• Public Prosecutor v Rajaviknesh A/L Rajendran Poduval:
  - assisted and secured reduction to a non-capital nature for the importation of diamorphine for the purpose of trafficking by a 18 year old Malaysian.
• Public Prosecutor v Chew Soon Woo:
  - assisted and secured reduction to a non-capital nature for the conspiracy between one Singaporean and another Malaysian to traffic in diamorphine.

Some of Josephus’ notable non-capital work includes the following:

• Public Prosecutor v Teo Eng Hua (& Franco Ong Kim Huat):
  - secured sentencing landmark of a fine in a typical ‘phantom worker’ case.
• Public Prosecutor v Chong Kim Hong:
  - secured rare sentence of a fine in a typical ‘upskirt’ case.
• Public Prosecutor v Yip Jun Kit:
  - secured rare sentence of probation for an adult offender in a typical ‘joyriding’ case.
• Public Prosecutor v Low Ji Qing:
  - secured rare sentence of probation for a hardcore offender who had reoffended while on bail and had previously served a 10 year preventive detention stint.
• Public Prosecutor v Ng Chee Boon:
  - secured nominal sentence of 1 day imprisonment coupled with a fine for an offender who had smuggled medicated oil into prison for profit.
• Public Prosecutor v FCKH:
  - secured nominal sentence of 1 day imprisonment by virtue of judicial mercy.

Pro Bono Efforts

Apart from volunteering in the various initiatives under the Association of Criminal Lawyers Singapore (ACLS) and the Law Society of Singapore, Josephus also renders free legal advice at the following locations:

• South East CDC @ The Singapore Post Centre.
• HELP Centre @ The Subordinate Courts of Singapore.
• Marine Parade Community Club.
• Henderson Community Club.
• Cheng San Community Club.
• NTUC Income Building.

Talks / Seminars / Publications

Josephus has been invited to speak at the following events:

• Alone in the Dock:
  - a dialogue held at NUS Law School by its Criminal Justice Club.
• Teens & the Law:
  - an assembly address held at Commonwealth Secondary School.
• Junior College Law Programme 2010:
  - a talk held at the Supreme Court auditorium for junior college students organized by the Singapore Academy of Law.

Appointments / Memberships

• Assistant Treasurer, Management Committee 2010-11, ACLS.
• Member, Law Awareness Committee 2009-11, Law Society of Singapore.
• Member, Panel of Assisting Counsel, LASCO.
• Member, Law Society of Singapore.
• Member, Singapore Academy of Law.
• President, Executive Council 2006-7, UKSLSS.