Francis Seow

Francis Seow,^[a] born Seow Tiang Siew (Chinese: 萧添寿; pinyin: Xiāo Tiānshòu; 11 October 1928 – 21 January 2016), was a Singaporean lawyer who was Solicitor-General of Singapore and later the President of the Law Society of Singapore.

Seow started his legal career in 1956 in the Singapore Legal Service, becoming Solicitor-General in 1969 before entering private practice in 1972. During his legal career, he was known for having both prosecuted and defended murderers such as Sunny Ang, Mimi Wong and Tan Mui Choo. After he was elected president of the Law Society of Singapore in 1986, he had a falling-out with Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew over the Law Society's role in commenting on legislation.

In the 1988 general election, Seow contested in Eunos GRC as a candidate of the opposition Workers' Party, against the governing People's Action Party. He lost with 49.11% of the vote. Before the election, Seow he been detained for 72 days without trial under the Internal Security Act. After being accused of tax evasion, Seow left for the United States for health treatment, subsequently disregarding numerous court summons to return to Singapore to stand trial. He was eventually convicted in absentia. Called a "prisoner of conscience" by Amnesty International in 2007, Seow was a frequent speaker at university talks outside of Singapore.
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