Law for pretending to be a lawyer

 

Written by: Averroes

Introduction

If we watch 'The Captain' film, a low-ranking German soldier wore a Nazi Officer uniform and people were easily tricked by his guile. It shows that wearing a well-cut and tailored uniform can change people's perception of us. 

However, if we were to taint or smear the good name that the uniform carry and the institution it represents, then it is a serious offence. If so, people will no longer trust the police, army, lawyers or any governmental body or any businesses and judge us by the uniform that we wear. 

That is why only selected people could wear the uniform and should not be used as a weapon to oppress others. 

There are and would be issues of people pretending to be police officers and taking advantage over the public. There are even Macau Scams where they cheat people to transfer large chunks of money, which reaches thousands of ringgit. They would imitate voices of custom officers or staffs from LHDN. 

Since they dress up or pretend to look wealthy or rich, people would easily be manipulated or influenced by their charms and looks. Humanity is a society which categorises trust based on their appearance and attitude. The more genteel or dressed up to éclat we are, people are nimble enough to be persuaded by whatever we say. 

Does that mean that, if a person were to wear a lawyer uniform or dress fashionably, or even pretend to be our favourite celebrities, they have actually committed a crime? Well, not really, because there are certain conditions for it. 

Relevant laws

The provisions for the laws of pretending to be someone is called as 'personation'. These laws could be found under the Penal Code (PC). However, there might be other laws for pretending to be someone in different Acts or statutes. 

Firstly, the law of section 170 of PC which is personating a public servant. As long as he impersonates to be a public servant, that is already an offence. Therefore, if we dress similarly to a policeman, judge or soldier, we may be charged. Is a lawyer part of the public service? 

Article 132(1)(b) of the Federal Constitution mentions the judicial and legal service is part of it, therefore a lawyer may be bound by this law. However, we already have a specific law if someone pretends to be a lawyer. 

The application of section 170 of PC is in Malek Ridzuan bin Isroll v Public Prosecutor [2015] 9 MLJ 674, whereby the appellant disguised as a policeman and told the victim and her male friend riding on a motorcycle to stop. He said that he was a policeman due to his yellow vest. They were stopped because he said that they were speeding and wanted to bring them to the police lock-up. 

He told the male friend to go back home, while he told the female victim to follow him to the police station. Instead, he took her to a jungle area and raped her or committed carnal intercourse. In another incident, he also did the same to another victim beside a river. Court dismissed his appeal and labelled him as a sexual predator. preying on young girls and sentenced him more than 30 years in jail. 

Secondly, section 416 of the PC, that is cheating by personation. The Explanation under the provision states, "The offence is committed whether the individual personated is a real or imaginary person." Cheating as defined under section 415 of PC is to deceive the other person to induce dishonestly or fraudulently deliver the property to any person.

Therefore, even if we disguise ourselves as a rich celebrity, person with authority or some fancy person in the world of the affluent, it is not a crime unless we cheat them. 

Lastly, section 37(1) of the Legal Profession Act 1976 states that "any unauthorised person who wilfully or falsely pretends to be that he is duly qualified or authorized to act as an advocate and solicitor, is guilty to pay fine not exceeding RM2,500 or imprisonment not more than 6 months or both."

We need to get our name on the roll first and practicing certificate, before we can become a lawyer. Does that mean, if we were to wear a lawyer uniform, does that make us a pretender?

Well, we can argue that we do not have the intention or mens rea, if we were to wear it for mooting or during class for educational purposes, then we are not pretending to be a lawyer. We are pretending to be one if we actually go to court, represent our clients and do all the real paperwork. 

Conclusion

So there we have it, even if we were to wear a certain uniform, it actually depends on what are intentions are and what we plan to do in that appearance. Clothes represents power and authority and it should not be abused or overridden. 

Uniforms and particular clothes represent honour, dignity and the sacred image of one profession or background. Wear it with pride and protect the sanctity of the career or field that we represent. If all let loose, then people would lose confidence in the professional, white-collar field and treat all of them equal to criminals.