BEWARE of bogus law firms that you find on the Internet.

A Singapore lawyer had a rude shock two days ago when she found her photo with someone else's name on the website of a 'law firm' supposedly based here.

Ms Wong Kai Yun, a partner at Chia Wong LLP in Parkway Parade, was alerted to her photo on the bogus firm's website by a Singapore Law Society officer.

A spokesman for the Law Society told The New Paper: 'The incident was brought to the attention of the Law Society when a member of the public wrote in to ascertain the existence of a lawyer named 'Yang HongZhi' and a law firm named 'Yang HongZhi Associates'.

'Based on the Law Society's records, there were no records of any firm or lawyer with the said names.

'Upon further investigation, the Law Society found the website of the firm which featured a photograph of a practitioner (but under a different name) and alerted the member.'

The website was found at: http://yanghongzhi-associates.net/about1.html

Ms Wong said: 'I was shocked to see my photograph appearing in this website under the name of 'Ming Chen' accompanied by a totally fictitious background write-up.'

Her partner, Mr Chia Boon Teck, was just bemused.

He said: 'When I visited the website, I found the style of its presentation familiar and I was amused to discover that they had copied a couple of pages from our firm's website lock, stock and barrel.

'I found the whole thing quite amusing as I thought to myself that imitation is the truest form of flattery.'

Ms Wong said that she lodged a police report about the fake site last Friday.

Mr Chia said that they are not seeking other legal recourse for the time being as they do not want to complicate police investigations.

On the bogus website, there was a Singapore contact number for the firm, but when The New Paper tried calling, the call was cut off.

It did not seem to be an existing number.

The Law Society spokesman said: 'On an average, the Law Society receives three to four queries a month from members of the public by telephone or e-mail to ascertain the existence of lawyers.'

It is not the first time where a Singapore lawyer or law firm has been victimised by a fake website, he added.

Mr Chia had this piece of advice: 'Anyone who is unsure about the existence of a lawyer or a law firm should simply check with the Law Society before parting with any payments.'

Members of the public who wish to verify if a person is authorised to practise law in Singapore may e-mail lawsoc@lawsoc.org.sg or telephone the Law Society at 6538-2500 during office hours to make enquiries.

This story was first published in The New Paper on 3 Novemeber 2008.