M Ravi

Ravi Madasamy [ரவி மாடசாமி ] (born 9 April 1969), better known as M Ravi, is a Singaporean lawyer, speaker and writer best known for his involvement in numerous high-profile court cases related to human rights issues, including the death penalty, freedom of expression, LGBT rights and voting rights.

Background

Ravi was born in Singapore in 1969 to parents of Tamil descent. After graduating with a bachelor's degree in sociology and political science from the National University of Singapore, he went on to read law at Cardiff University and obtained a Bachelor of Laws.

Career

Ravi defended the accused in high-profile death penalty cases such as Public Prosecutor v Shanmugam s/o Murugesu (2004), Public Prosecutor v Iwuchukwu Amara Tochi and Another (2006) and Yong Vui Kong v Public Prosecutor (2010). As a lawyer, he is known for his discursive courtroom style. He has also argued other landmark human rights cases such as Shadrake v Attorney-General (2011) on freedom of expression and contempt of court, Tan Eng Hong v Attorney-General (2012) on gay rights and decriminalisation of homosexuality, and Vellama d/o Marie Muthu v. Attorney-General (2013) on voting rights, amongst others. In 2015, he defended Roy Ngerng in a defamation lawsuit initiated by Lee Hsien Loong, the Prime Minister of Singapore.

Controversies

2015 suspension

In 2015, the Law Society issued a direction to Ravi to temporarily cease his legal practice. In response, Ravi and three companions appeared at the Law Society's premises, where he made inappropriate statements and acted in an unruly manner, which were recorded in a video clip that was later published on social media. The direction was based on the Law Society's concerns that the state of Ravi's mental condition impaired his fitness to practise law. The Court of Appeal then affirmed that decision and ordered Ravi be prohibited from applying for a practising certificate for a period of two years and to continue to seek medical help.

2018 assault incident

In 2018, Ravi was sentenced to an 18-month mandatory treatment order after assaulting Jeannette Chong-Aruldoss, a fellow lawyer and opposition politician. Ravi, who was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 2006, had to undergo treatment to address his mental condition, in lieu of jail time.

List of publications

• Land of Good English (2004)

• Hung at Dawn (2005)

• M Ravi: Kampong Boy (2013)