Lawyer Goes Missing With Couple's $40,000

Source : The Straits Times, Nov 23, 2007

ANOTHER lawyer appears to have skipped town with a client's money. After a cheque for $40,000 from the law firm handling a couple's condominium sale bounced, the couple were told by the firm that Mr Zulkifli Amin, the lawyer handling the matter, could not be reached and that the money was missing.

Speaking to The Straits Times yesterday, Mrs Sharon Ang, 33, a bank officer, said the cheque was the last payment from the sale of their $1 million apartment in The Calrose Condo in Yio Chu Kang Road.

Another lawyer from the firm of Sadique Marican & ZM Amin at Raffles City told the couple yesterday afternoon that Mr Zulkifli had gone missing and the police had been notified.

It is understood the firm is assisting investigations.

Last night, Mrs Ang and her husband also lodged a police report on the missing funds.

She had never met Mr Zulkifli, who had been appointed by the real estate agent handling the sale. She said: 'I was always dealing with someone else who answered the calls on his behalf.'

A graduate of the National University of Singapore, Mr Zulkifli began practice seven years ago, starting out at Drew & Napier.

In November 2003, he set up his own firm focusing on insurance, conveyancing and matrimonial matters.

About eight months later, he teamed up with Mr Marican in their present firm, where he headed its conveyancing and real estate department.

According to the website of the firm, which has four lawyers, Mr Zulkifli oversees a department with an annual turnover of more than $1 million and he is 'well-respected among his peers and clients'.

Mr Zulkifli is the third lawyer in three months to have allegedly skipped town.

Two others disappeared in August and September with $68,000 and $32,000 respectively of their clients' money, also involving conveyancing transactions.

At least six other lawyers had pocketed money in earlier years. The biggest case to date - ex-lawyer David Rasif, who fled in June last year with more than $12 million of clients' funds.