Fugitive Singapore lawyer Charles Yeo granted bail by UK court, put on curfew before extradition hearing

SINGAPORE: Fugitive Singapore lawyer Charles Yeo was granted conditional bail by a UK court on Friday (Nov 22) as he awaits an extradition hearing.

As part of the conditions, Yeo, 34, will be placed on a curfew and must be at his hotel in central London between midnight and 8am every day.

According to court documents, he will be "electronically monitored" during his curfew. 

In the UK, this usually involves wearing an electronic tag and having monitoring equipment installed at the place of curfew. 

This tag ensures the person is at the place of curfew during the set hours. It will send an alert to a monitoring centre if they are not.

Yeo will also have to report to a police station between noon and 2pm every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday. 

Bail was set at £75,000 (US$94,000) and the Home Office has to confirm it has Yeo's passport before he can be released on bail.

According to court documents, he must not enter or go to any "international travel hub", and must not apply for international travel documents or be in possession of any.

This is to ensure he appears at his next court hearing in December, the court heard.

Singapore's Attorney-General's Chambers (AGC) and Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) told CNA on Nov 13 that Singapore had sent a request to the UK seeking Yeo's extradition.

This was for an offence of abetment of cheating, in which funds were released to his law firm that constituted a settlement sum for his client's claim.

According to UK court documents, this purportedly took place between Jul 29, 2020 and Nov 30, 2020. 

Yeo was arrested by UK authorities on Nov 4.

The former chairman of the Reform Party, Yeo was handed six charges in Singapore in January 2022:

• One count of uttering words with deliberate intent to wound the religious feelings of another under the Penal Code
• Two counts of attempting to utter words with deliberate intent to wound the religious feelings of another under the Penal Code
• Three counts of making abusive, threatening or insulting communication towards a public servant under the Protection from Harassment Act

In August 2022, a district court issued a warrant of arrest for Yeo after he breached the conditions for overseas travel while on bail. 

He was given permission to travel to Vietnam for work, but he failed to return to Singapore and claimed he was seeking “political asylum” in the UK.

The UK government said that it does not comment on individual cases. It is unclear if Yeo was granted political asylum.

Yeo also told an investigation officer that he did not intend to return to Singapore. In March 2023, the warrant of arrest was extended by the Singapore court.

According to the UK Home Office website, Singapore is among the countries that have a formal extradition arrangement with the UK. 

It is a Category 2B country – which means it needs to make out a case to support a request for extradition. 

Extradition requests from Category 2 territories need decisions by both the Secretary of State and the courts.