Case Update: Singapore Medical Council v Wong Him Choon [2016] SGHC 145 – Court of Three Judges reprimands and disciplines doctor for disregarding migrant worker’s medical interests

Singapore Medical Council v Wong Him Choon [2016] SGHC 145

Significance: The Court of Three Judges reversed the decision of the Disciplinary Tribunal (DT) on appeal by the Singapore Medical Council (SMC) and held that the medical doctor, a consultant orthopaedic surgeon from Raffles Hospital, had breached his ethical duties to the patient, a migrant construction worker, by issuing inadequate medical leave (MCs) in disregard of the patient’s interests and having regard instead for extraneous interests such as those of the worker’s employer.
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July 11, 2016July 25, 2016

Legislative Update: Bill to legislate law on contempt of court

The Administration of Justice (Protection) Bill was introduced in Parliament today (11 July 2016). It seeks to legislate the law on contempt of court, which includes the sub judice and scandalising the court rules, and the rules on non-compliance with court orders. Some significant points to note about the Bill are as follows.

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July 8, 2016

MCST Plan No 3322 v Tiong Aik Construction Pte Ltd – SGCA holds no non-delegable duties on construction professionals

MCST Plan No 3322 v Tiong Aik Construction Pte Ltd [2016] SGCA 40

Significance: Singapore Court of Appeal held that the architect and builder / main contractor is not subject to a non-delegable duty in tort to ensure that the building and design of a building was carried out without negligence on the part of any of their sub-contractors: MCST Plan No 3322 v Tiong Aik Construction Pte Ltd [2016] SGCA 40. The Court also held that moving forward, to demonstrate that a non-delegable duty arises on a particular set of facts, a claimant must minimally be able to satisfy the court either that: (a) the facts fall within one of the established categories of non-delegable duties; or (b) the facts possess all the features described at [58] above.

In this case, RSP Architects and Tiong Aik Construction were sued by The Seaview’s MCST.
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July 5, 2016

Shi Wen Yue v Shi Minjiu and another [2016] SGHCR 8 – HC AR holds Chinese judicial settlement enforceable

Shi Wen Yue v Shi Minjiu and another [2016] SGHCR 8 – AR holds that PRC judicial settlement enforceable not as a foreign judgment but an agreement

Significance: An AR exercising powers as a High Court judge held that a mediation paper / judicial settlement made in Chinese proceedings pursuant to a settlement could be enforced in the Singapore court not as a foreign judgment based on the application of the laws of China, but an agreement under the common law.

July 5, 2016

Beyonics Technology Ltd v Goh Chan Peng [2016] – HC rules on causation for equitable compensation

Beyonics Technology Ltd v Goh Chan Peng [2016] SGHC 120 – HC rules on causation for equitable compensation

Significance: in this murky area of the law of equity and trusts, Hoo Sheau Peng JC decided that the causation rule for awarding equitable compensation for breach of fiduciary duties involving the core fiduciary obligations of acting in the best interests of the principal would be the less strict approach taken by the Privy Council in the Brickenden v London Loan & Savings Co of Canada [1934] 3 DLR 465 (“Brickenden”) decision and discussed in previous SGHC decisions of Quality Assurance Management Asia Pte Ltd v Zhang Qing [2013] 3 SLR 631 (HC) (“Quality Assurance”) and Then Khek Koon v Arjun Permanad Samtani [2014] 1 SLR 245 (HC) (“Then Khek Koon”).
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June 26, 2016June 26, 2016

Private sector corruption: 9 months jail

http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/director-jailed-for-9-months-for-graft
Director of a company convicted and jailed 9 months under the Prevention of Corruption Act for intending (although he never actually made the payment) to pay an employee of a company (LVMH) bribes to induce business opportunities for his company.

June 15, 2016

Case Update: Seaquest Enterprise v Agile Accomm – SGHC finds minority oppression, orders buyout

Seaquest Enterprise Pte Ltd v Agile Accomm Pte Ltd [2016] SGHC 51

Significance: Singapore High Court found that there was a case of minority oppression, and ordered a buyout of the minority’s shares to be valued by an independent valuator for fair value at the date of the judgment.

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May 19, 2016July 21, 2017

Legislative Update: enforcement action for PDPA breaches

Introduction

On 21 April 2016, the Personal Data Protection Commission (PDPC) issued a press release outlining its enforcement action against 11 organisations for breaches to the Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA).

The highlight penalty was a $50,000 fine and other directions meted out against karaoke chain K Box Entertainment Group Pte Ltd for not putting in place sufficient security measures to protect the personal data of 317,000 members (a list of the members’ details were uploaded onto some website), for inadequate data protection policies and the absence of a Data Protection Officer (DPO). Its IT vendor in charge of managing its content management system, Finantech Holdings Pte Ltd, was also fined.

PDPA breaches can result in financial penalties, valuable work hours spent on investigation proceedings, loss of trust from one’s clients, and reputational harm.

Since the PDPA came into full effect in July 2014, the PDPC has received 667 complaints. 92% of these complaints were resolved through investigation and facilitation between the respective organisations and individuals.

In this article, I consider some key themes in the enforcement action cases highlighted in the 21 April 2016 press release.

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May 18, 2016

Legislative Update: Paternity Leave, Child Developments Co-Savings, Unwed Mothers

Paternity Leave

Under the Child Development Co-savings (Amendment) Bill 2016, employers and self-employed individuals, who voluntarily exercise the option to grant to employees or take a second week of paternity leave respectively, will be reimbursed by the Government for this additional week of leave granted or taken.

The second week of paternity leave may be taken on or after 24 Aug 2015, and applies to:

i. children born on or after 1 Jan 2015;
ii. children born before 1 Jan 2015, but whose estimated delivery date (EDD) was on or after 1 Jan 2015;
iii. adopted children where the application to adopt is on or after 1 Jan 2015 (for child who is a Singapore citizen); or,
iv. adopted children whose dependant’s pass is issued on or after 1 Jan 2015 (for a child who is not a Singapore citizen).

It allows employers and self-employed to seek reimbursement from 1 Jul 2016.

It will also be mandatory for employers to provide two weeks of paternity leave to fathers of citizen children born from 1 January 2017 onwards. Amendments to the relevant statutes will follow.

CDA for Unwed Parents

Children of unwed parents would be eligible for Child Development Account (CDA) benefits, including the $3,000 CDA First Step grant. This applies to eligible children born from September 2016 onwards.

May 18, 2016

Case Update: BCBC Singapore Pte Ltd and another v PT Bayan Resources TBK and another [2016] SGHC(I) 01 – first SICC judgment

Significance: BCBC Singapore Pte Ltd and another v PT Bayan Resources TBK and another [2016] SGHC(I) 01 is the first Singapore International Commercial Court (SICC) judgment ever. Decided by Quentin Loh J, Vivian Ramsey IJ and Anselmo Reyes IJ.