62-year-old lawyer shows no signs of slowing down

HE IS 62 years old and still believes in heroes.

“I don’t want to be mediocre. I want to be a dedicated professional. That’s why, from the time I started, I’ve always looked out for heroes – senior lawyers who are professionally competent, ethically sound and inspiring,” said lawyer Peter Cuthbert Low.

He has been in the profession for more than 30 years and remains a man with a mission – not to save, but to help.

His work is his “passion”, he said. In all his cases, he sees himself as a necessary bridge between his client and the courts.

“I believe people first need access to a lawyer before they can get access to justice,” said Mr Low, who is currently the solicitor for his friend, law professor Tey Tsun Hang, in the high-profile sex-for-grades case.

Other high-profile past clients include former Internal Security Act (ISA) detainees, former opposition politician Tang Liang Hong, and Singapore Democratic Party chief Chee Soon Juan.

He said the circumstances behind his acting for these individuals differed in each case. But he said his intent was – and remains – constant: “As a lawyer, you try not to pick and choose. I treat each of my clients as individuals who need legal assistance. I don’t identify with their causes, but I identify with their needs.”

In 1987 – the year of his “most memorable case” to date – he witnessed the arrest of his then- colleague and former law school classmate Tang Lay Lee.

“I couldn’t believe she was a Marxist. She was a school prefect, she attended mass regularly, and was a more religious Catholic than I was,” he said.

Later, he heard that three other lawyer friends had also been arrested. They were among about 20 people accused of being part of an alleged Marxist conspiracy which planned to topple the Government. They were rounded up under the ISA and detained.

“I considered them friends. How could I not help?” he said.  Click here