‘Be part of the solution’: S’pore lawyer fights for people with invisible disabilities

About 400 people from the legal, medical and social services circles came together in March at the State Courts for the inaugural Access to Justice Symposium.

It was there that then Second Minister for Law Edwin Tong announced that the Ministry of Law would be committed to a multi-agency task force to support individuals with invisible disabilities within the justice system, including those with mental health conditions and special needs.

Behind this milestone is one woman: veteran lawyer Peggy Yee, 61, who has been an advocate for people with invisible disabilities for more than two decades.

Ms Yee, who runs her own law firm, PY Legal, chaired the organising committee of the symposium, and spent a year persuading government agencies and tapping her networks to bring it to life. The event was hosted by legal aid charity Pro Bono SG.

For Ms Yee, whose legal career spans 38 years, the effort was personal: a long-held vision of a more inclusive society for people with mental health conditions, autism, intellectual disabilities and other invisible needs.

“When you recognise that there’s a need, and no one is doing something, I feel personally responsible,” Ms Yee told The Straits Times in a September interview at her Clarke Quay office.

Seated at a desk with a portrait of a mother and child painted by an artist with autism, the spirited woman brimmed with enthusiasm as she spoke about her passion for this group.

In her speech at the symposium in March, she had said: “No one wears a sign to say he has mental health issues or is autistic.”

Ms Yee, who raised the idea of the task force at the symposium, added: “How do (people with invisible disabilities) advocate for themselves when they struggle to process information? How do they exercise their rights when they are unable to articulate themselves?”

‘Be part of the solution’

Ms Yee often takes on these individuals’ criminal and civil cases pro bono, and has represented those charged with offences, including unlawful stalking and theft.

“Empathy without action is just sentiment,” she said.

Ms Yee, who is also vice-chairwoman of Canossaville Children and Community Services, and a board member at Catholic charity Caritas Singapore, received the Law Society of Singapore’s Pro Bono Ambassador Award in 2024.

The award is the highest honour given by the society to an individual in recognition of the person’s established track record of providing pro bono services for five or more years.

The law is now more aware of individuals with invisible disabilities, with more people trained to help those with special needs through police interviews, and court and prison processes.

But Ms Yee believes that sentencing options remain limited.

Although people with treatable mental health conditions may be sentenced to a mandatory treatment order (MTO), which is a court order in lieu of jail time, Ms Yee said some people with intellectual disabilities and autism may not qualify as their conditions are deemed medically untreatable.

Another thorny issue lies in proving a causal link between their conditions and offences via separate expert reports from the prosecution and defence, a complex process that Ms Yee hopes to simplify.

“(I’d say) don’t just be the problem giver... be part of the solution,” she said.

Bout with cancer

Ms Yee had originally intended to hold the symposium in 2021, but plans changed after cancer struck.

A routine mammogram revealed that she had Stage 2B breast cancer, a diagnosis that took her by surprise.

But she was still worried about her clients, even delaying surgery to attend the sentencing of one of her pro bono clients who had schizophrenia and was charged with theft.

Ms Yee, who successfully fought for the client to get an MTO, said: “I have cancer inside me, but I can still talk, right?”

Her husband, who is a civil servant, and her three children, aged 25, 23 and 18, urged her to slow down after the diagnosis.

Fortunately, the cancer went into remission after 1½ years and launched Ms Yee into what she now views as the second lap of her life. “I must make it work. No high teas for me, please,” she said with a wry smile.

Ms Yee, a staunch Catholic, now devotes her time to family, her law practice and rallying others to care for people with invisible disabilities.

As she listened to Mr Tong speak at the symposium, Ms Yee felt her work was coming to fruition.

She said: “I hope to infect everybody to do a bit more, and for those who have and can, to think about those who don’t have and those who can’t.”

Source: The Straits Times © SPH Media Limited. Permission required for reproduction.

ADV: Family Law Masterclass for the Advanced Practitioner Neighbour disputes: What more can we do for parties to come to the table? – Opinion