Singapore's Indian-origin human rights lawyer M Ravi dies, says report
Singapore (PTI): An Indian-origin former lawyer M Ravi, widely known for representing death row inmates, including Malaysians, in Singapore, has died on Wednesday at 56.
He was found dead in the early hours of December 24, according to a report by The Straits Times. Police are investigating a case of unnatural death, said the daily report.
Ravi, whose full name was Ravi Madasamy, was born in 1969 and was a lawyer for more than 25 years.
ALSO READ: Success of LVM-3 mission reinforces India's growing role in global commercial launch market: PM Modi
He had also been in the news over his conduct, and was an advocate for the LGBTQ community and supported the abolition of the death penalty. Ravi was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 2006.
Lawyer Eugene Thuraisingam, who had previously served as Ravi's counsel, said that he "was a man who stood up for and fought hard in court for what he believed in".
"He was dedicated to his pro bono work and deeply cared for his clients," the Channel News Asia quoted Thuraisingam as saying.
"He was a friend and he will be deeply missed by all in the legal fraternity."
According to the Encyclopedia of Singapore Tamils, an online resource, Ravi was a graduate of the National University of Singapore and Cardiff University and was called to the Bar in 1996.
He founded his own law firm, M Ravi Law, in 2019.
In 2023, he was recognised for his human rights work by the International Bar Association, receiving its "Award for Outstanding Contribution by a Legal Practitioner to Human Rights".
The organisation, according to the Channel report, praised Ravi for his "extraordinary dedication to defending human rights and advocating for the decriminalisation of homosexuality and the abolition of the death penalty in the Republic of Singapore".
Thirty-three offences—including murder, drug trafficking, terrorism, use of firearms and kidnapping—warrant the death penalty under Singaporean law.
Ravi had several brushes with the law, being fined for disorderly behaviour in 2004 and given a mandatory treatment order to address his bipolar disorder in 2018, before he was sentenced to 14 weeks' jail for a string of offences in 2024.
He was handed a five-year suspension from practising law in 2023 for making "grave and baseless accusations of improper conduct" against the attorney-general, officers from the Attorney-General's Chambers and the Law Society.
Ravi was a one-time political candidate, running in the 2015 General Election as part of a Reform Party slate.
He was also an author, publishing an autobiography, Kampong Boy (a boy from a village), in 2013. The book was shortlisted for the Singapore Literature Prize the following year.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Real Madrid fines Valverde and Tchouaméni half a million euros each for altercation
Barcelona (AP): Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.
The massive fines came a day after the midfielders tussled when the team trained. Valverde said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. But Valverde knocked his head on a table and he suffered a small cut that required a brief hospital visit.
On social media, Valverde initially called it a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and said “everything has been blown out of proportion."
His employers, however, considered it a significant enough breach of team discipline to nail both Valverde and Tchouaméni with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player. The half-a-million euro penalties reflect the reputational damage the club was enduring in a chaotic end to a disappointing season.
In a statement, the 15-time European champion said its disciplinary action was concluded after both players expressed to the club “their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to one another.”
Madrid added they also apologized to their teammates, the coaching staff and club supporters, as well as showing their willingness to accept whatever disciplinary action the club deemed “opportune.”
Tchouaméni was back training with Madrid on Friday, two days before they play at Barcelona in a clasico. Madrid has to win otherwise Barcelona will be crowned La Liga champion.
After being notified of the fine, he posted a public apology to the club and its fans on social media.
“What happened this week in training is unacceptable,” Tchouaméni wrote. "I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school.
“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club.”
Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.
Both players are set to play in the World Cup next month, with Tchouaméni playing for France and Valverde for Uruguay.
Chaotic end to a poor season
===================
The run-in between the players, who for seasons have played side by side in Madrid's midfield, came after they argued this week in previous training sessions. But tempers boiled over on Thursday. Spanish media was rife with reports that the players previously disagreed over the club's decision to let coach Xabi Alonso go after just months on the job.
It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training this week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got into a scuffle.
Álvaro Arbeloa, the coach who was promoted from Madrid's reserve team when Alonso was fired in January, will face tough questions on what went wrong inside the changing room when he gives a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clasico at Camp Nou.
Madrid is facing a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy amid rumors in the Spanish media that club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.
