$92,700 was raised by the CJ’s Cup charity futsal – a collaborative fundraising project between the Singapore Academy of Law and the Yellow Ribbon Fund.

Singapore, 16 September 2017 – Over 130 lawyers, law students and ex-offenders pitted their skills on the futsal pitch for the coveted Chief Justice’s Cup, all for a good cause. The futsal, a joint charity event co-organised by the Singapore Academy of Law (SAL) and the Yellow Ribbon Fund (YRF) raised $92,700 for the YRF-SAL STAR (Skills Training Assistance to Restart) Bursary, which provides educational bursaries to financially disadvantaged ex-offenders for vocational and skills training.

After three hours of play among the 19 teams at Kovan Sports Centre, the team from Pertapis Halfway House won the coveted cup on a score of 3-2 against runners-up from SMU School of Law.

Mr Thio Shen Yi, SC, Chairman of SAL’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Sub-Committee said “It is heartening to see the legal community rallying around the education and rehabilitation of ex-offenders through the CJ’s Cup. This is the second year we are organising this charity futsal tournament and we hope to gradually grow this effort into a mainstay event for the legal community.”

The YRF-SAL STAR Bursary, started in 2014, has benefited 21 ex-offenders who received financial help through the bursary. 7 of these recipients have graduated with recognised diplomas. John (pseudonym), who is currently studying for a Mathematical Sciences Degree at a local institution, is one of the bursary recipients. “The financial support from Yellow Ribbon enables me to stay focused on my studies so that I will not have to worry about where to get money to pay for my next fee. My past is a contrast to what I’m doing now so I use this as an encouragement to people who want to change for the better, I use my actions to tell others that I’m a changed person.”

Mr Thio adds “The CSR Sub-Committee hopes that the CJ’s Cup will continue to see greater participation by involving even more of the legal community in subsequent years. The more we can grow the bursary together with YRF and the legal community, the more ex-offenders can be given a second chance to re-build their lives.”

About the Singapore Academy of Law

The Singapore Academy of Law (SAL) is a promotion and development agency for Singapore’s legal industry. Our vision is to make Singapore the legal hub of Asia.

SAL works with our stakeholders to set new precedents of excellence in Singapore law through developing thought leadership, world class infrastructure and legal solutions. Our mandates are to build up the intellectual capital of the legal profession by enhancing legal knowledge, raise the international profile of Singapore law, promote Singapore as a centre for dispute resolution, and improve the standards and efficiency of legal practice through continuing professional development and the use of technology.

As a body established by statute, SAL also undertakes statutory functions such as stakeholding services and appointment of Senior Counsel, Commissioners for Oaths and Notaries Public.

SAL is led by a Senate headed by Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon, and comprising the Attorney-General, the Supreme Court Bench and key leaders of the various branches of the legal profession. It has more than 12,000 members, including the Bench, all persons who are called as advocates and solicitors of the Supreme Court (i.e. the Bar) or appointed as Legal Service Officers, corporate counsel, faculty members of the three local law schools (i.e. National University of Singapore, Singapore Management University and Singapore University of Social Sciences) and foreign lawyers in Singapore.

More information can be found at www.sal.org.sg.