EVEN though he suffered from depression and voluntarily suspended himself from legal practice, the Court of Three Judges on Wednesday still struck off lawyer Choy Chee Yean from the rolls.

The decision of the court, which has the power to censure, suspend or strike lawyers off the rolls, revolved around the issue of whether Choy's misconduct was dishonest when he burgled a Hong Kong hotel room.

Reading out their decision, Judge of Appeal Andrew Phang conceded that Choy's leniency plea was powerful but added that the legal profession cannot be seen to be tolerant of such conduct.

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