Adjudicators for Structured Products

Last Updated: 28/11/2007

FIDReC’s Adjudicators comprises of highly qualified and credible professionals with relevant experience and expertise. All FIDReC Adjudicators are required to go through a stringent selection process before they are appointed.

The Adjudicators are independent and impartial. They are not employees, agents or independent contractors of FIDReC.

FIDReC does not interfere with the decisions of the Adjudicators. The Adjudicators act wholly in their own private capacity and adjudicates cases based on the facts and merits of each case.

Among FIDReC’s Adjudicators are judges, senior counsel, lawyers and retired industry professionals.

Mr Abdul Rashid Ghani

Abdul Rashid Gani
Senior Partner
Litigation Practice Group
LL.B (Hons)(Singapore), Commissioner for Oaths, Notary Public
Tel: (65) 6238 3009
Fax: (65) 6535 1030
Email: abdulrashid@khattarwong.com

Mr Rashid has been an insurance litigation expert for over 34 years. He has acted in a vast array of complex disputes, in all forms of dispute resolution processes, including complicated arbitrations. He is a specialist in insurance litigation and has developed an extensive practice in advising on the resolution of insurance disputes. Many of the cases that Mr Rashid deals with have multi-jurisdictional issues and require cross-jurisdictional application of processes. Mr Rashid is a Panel Member of the Singapore International Arbitration Centre, and is on the panel of mediators in the Singapore Mediation Centre. His other areas of expertise include: Arbitration; Commercial Litigation; Industrial Relations; Employment; and Immigration Law.

CURRICULUM VITAE OF ABDUL RASHID GANI

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Mr William Edward Jansen

Mr William Edward Jansen is an Advocate & Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Singapore having graduated from the University of Singapore with a LLB (Hons) in 1971. He is presently a Partner in Jansen, Menon & Lee and is also a Notary Public and Commissioner for Oaths.

Mr Jansen has specialized in the last 34 years in litigation and commercial practice with emphasis on areas of contract, sale of goods, insurance, admiralty, banking and building contract work.

Mr Jansen attended the Singapore Institute of Arbitrators Course on Arbitration Law & Practice in 1992 and is a Fellow of the Singapore Institute of Arbitrators. Mr Jansen has now been appointed to their Panel of Arbitrators. Between 1991 and 1992, he was a Law Society Council Member and was a Member of the House and Social Committee of the Academy of Law in 1994. Between 1992 and 1996, he served two terms as the Honorary Secretary of the Eurasian Association. He is currently the Chairman of the Legal Advisory Panel of the Eurasian Association.

Mr Jansen completed a Mediation Workshop conducted by the Singapore Mediation Centre(SMC) in 2001 and has acted as Mediator/Arbitrator appointed by the Law Society of Singapore in arbitration and costs disputes.

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Mr Naresh Mahtani

Mr Naresh Mahtani has been in legal practice for over 24 years. He is a lawyer with local, regional and international experience in commercial transactions, construction, engineering and infrastructure projects work, oil and gas construction projects, dispute resolution and related areas of law.

He is currently practising as a Consultant at the firm of Alban Tay Mahtani & de Silva (“ATMD”). Mr Mahtani has been appointed as Arbitrator and Arbitration Counsel in major construction and international arbitrations involving construction and commercial disputes in the building & construction industry and oil & gas industry in Singapore, Indonesia, Brunei, Malaysia and United States of America.

Amongst other qualifications, he is a Fellow of the Singapore Institute of Arbitrators, a Member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, on the Regional Panel of Arbitrators of the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC); on the Disputes & Compensation Resolution Panel of Singapore Wholesale Electricity Market; and the Arbitration Panel of the Inter-Pacific Bar Association (“IPBA”) International Cyber-Arbitration Service System (I-CASS). He is currently Vice-Chairman of the Society of Construction Law, Singapore. His former appointments include his appointment as Chief Executive Officer of the Law Society of Singapore in 1999 to 2001.

Mr Mahtani has written and presented articles and papers on subjects concerning contracts, dispute resolution, construction law and the legal profession, in regional journals as well as international conferences on these subject.

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Dr S Chanda Mohan

S. Chandra Mohan graduated from the law faculty of the then University of Singapore (NUS) in 1967. In his third year at the University, he was co-winner of the Higgins Book Prize for the best undergraduate contribution to a legal journal. Upon graduation, he joined the Singapore Legal Service where he held a number of senior posts including that of a senior Judge of the District Court, Director of Legal Aid, Official Assignee/Official Receiver, Public Trustee and Director of Legal Policy (Ministry of Law). He has served on numerous public service committees. In 2004 he became a consultant with a law firm and joined the Singapore Management University law school faculty in June 2007.

Whilst in the judiciary, Chandra heard a number of high-profile criminal trials. His proposals that arrest cases be classified as DAC, MAC and JAC and draft orders and summonses in respect of the protection of spouses and children against domestic violence, are still in use. He has attended a training course on the administration of justice, on a Colombo Plan award, at the UN institute in Tokyo, received training at the US National College of the State Judiciary and in 1983, and studied the UK criminal justice system on a UN Human Rights Fellowship. During his term as Official Receiver, Chandra was a member of the United Nations Working Group which drafted the UNCITRAL Model Law on Cross-Border Insolvency in 1997. He also served as Singapore’s representative on the UNCITRAL Working Group on Insolvency Law in New York. For outstanding work in bankruptcy administration and for initiating major reforms in insolvency law, he was conferred the Public Administration Medal (Gold) at the National Day Honours in 1999. Under his leadership, in 2003, the Law Ministry’s Legal Policy Division won the United Nations Public Service award for the creation of the “Polygon of Good Laws”, a method devised to determine good legislation.

Since graduation, Chandra has had a keen interest in learning and teaching law. In 1972 he obtained an LLM from the University of Singapore and in 1988 was awarded a PhD by the University of London for his dissertation on “The Control of Corruption in Singapore”. He taught continuously at the NUS law faculty as an adjunct from 1971 to 1981 and from 2003 to 2007 and at the Postgraduate Practical Law Course from 1972 to 1999. He was a Visiting Fellow at UNAFEI in Tokyo in 1996 and 2001 and is an Academic Counsellor with the Asian Crime Prevention Foundation. Chandra has written widely on criminal law and procedure, evidence, family law and insolvency law and practice.

Chandra’s other interest is in collecting and studying Singapore historical documents. He is particularly interested in the origin of Singapore street names on which he has written a number of articles.

Publications:
I BOOKS AND MONOGRAPHS
Authored
1. Bail in Singapore (Malayan Law Journal, Singapore,1977)

Edited
1. Mallal’s Digest, Vol. 1 (Arms and Explosives, Banishment, 2002, LexisNexis)
2. Mallal’s Digest, Vol.5 (Criminal Procedure, 2004, LexisNexis)

Book Review
1. “Casebook on Insolvency and the Construction Industry” by Philip CF Chan (Singapore : Sweet & Maxwell Asia, 2004), (July 2005) Singapore Journal of Legal Studies, 310
2. “Criminal Law in Malaysia and Singapore” by Stanley Yeo, Neil Morgan and Chan Wing Cheong (Singapore : LexisNexis,2007), (July 2008). Singapore Journal of Legal studies

II LAW JOURNAL PUBLICATIONS
1. “Balancing Competiting Interests in Bankruptcty : Discharge by Certificate of the Official Assignee in Singapore”, (2008) 20 SAcLJ, 464
2. “ The Crimson Logic Case: When is a Judgment not a Judgment?”, Law Gazette, September 2007, 23
3. “The High Court’s Latest Bail Decision: Overdue for 50 Years? ” Law Gazette, May 2006, 36
4. “Countermeasures to the Abuse of Power and Corruption : Some Lessons From Singapore” (1996) UN Resource Material Series) No. 48, 74
5. “Police Interrogation and the Right of Silence in Singapore”, [1986] 2 Malayan Law Journal, lxxxi
6. “Bail in Offences Punishable with Death or Imprisonment for Life”, [1977] Journal of Malaysian and Comparative Law 311
7. “Admissibility and Use of Statements made to Police Officers”, [1976] 2 Malayan Law Journal, lxxxiii (Part I), [1977] 1 Malayan Law Journal, lxxxiv (part II)
8. “Maintenance Proceedings in Singapore ”, (1974) 16 Malaya Law Review 230
9. “Public Participation in the Administration of Justice in Singapore” (1971) UN Resource Material Series No.4
10. “The Introduction and Development of Trial by Jury in Malaysia and Singapore” (with S.Ramankutty), (1966) 8 Malaya Law Review 270

III CONFERENCE PAPERS
“The Singapore Maintenance of Parents Act”, Malaysian Bar Council Seminar, Kuala Lumpur, 2007
“Medical Negligence in Singapore: Is litigation on the Rise?”, Malaysian Medico-Legal Society Conference, Kula Lumpur, 2003
“UNCITRAL Model Law on Cross-Border Insolvency – The Singapore Perspective”, Conference on Harmonisation of Int’l Trade Law & UNCITRAL, Singapore, July 2002
“Towards an Understanding of Corruption”, UNAFEI, 4th International Training Course on Corruption, Tokyo, 2001
“Assisting Ministries in their Legislative Programme : Role of the Ministry of Law’s Legal Policy Division”, Singapore, 2001
“Evolving Strategies in Bankruptcy Administration” Bankruptcy and Liquidation Conference, Singapore, 2000
“Balancing Competing Interests: Discharge by Certificate of the Official Assignee”, Malaysian Official Assignee’s Conference, Kota Bahru, 1999
“The Challenges to Admissibility of DNA Evidence”, 3rd Nordic Medico-Legal Conference, Latvia, 1998
“The Past, the Present and the Future - An Overview of Singapore’s Bankruptcy Regime”, Conference on Bankruptcy Law & Practice, Singapore Academy of Law, 1997
“The Control of Bureaucratic Corruption – Some Lessons from the Singapore Experience”, Asian Crime Prevention Foundation Conference, Manila, 1994
“Compensating Victims of Crime: The Making of Compensation Orders in Singapore”, Asian Crime Prevention Foundation Conference, Kuala Lumpur, 1993
“Effective Delivery of Legal Aid Services – The Singapore Experience”, Conference on Legal Literacy, Bangkok, 1989

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Mr Balachandran s/o Ponnampalam

Bachelor of Laws (Hons), University of Singapore (1976), Program of Instructions for Lawyers, Harvard Law School and Masters of Law, National University of Singapore (1992).
Mr P Balachandran is the Vice Chairman and Director of Robert Wong & Woo LLC. He was admitted to the Singapore Bar in 1978 and had attended various arbitration courses including that conducted by The Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (UK).

He was made a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, UK and also the Singapore Institute of Arbitrators. Mr P Balachandran is active in alternate dispute resolution as a legal counsel, as an arbitrator on the regional panel of the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC), as a Mediator on costs for the Law Society of Singapore and as a committee member of the Alternate Dispute Resolution Committee of Law Society of Singapore. He also sits on the Compensation Fund Committee and the International Relations Committee of the Law Society of Singapore.

He is a Notary Public and is the Hon Legal Advisor of the Singapore Infocomm Technology Federation which is the voice of the ICT industry in Singapore. Mr P Balachandran has a cross-border legal practice encompassing commercial and financial transactions, insurance, technology, construction and engineering (including large development infrastructure projects) and litigation. He has worked in London and Hong Kong with an English City Firm.

In connection with his work, he sits on the board of companies set up in Singapore mainly by American and European companies.
He has commercial experience having worked in the Finance Department of Singapore Airlines and run a multi-national travel company as its General Manager prior to practicing law.

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Mr Chan Wing Cheong

Associate Professor, Faculty of Law, National University of Singapore

Mr Chan completed his undergraduate studies in Law in Oxford University (England) and his Masters degree in Cornell University (USA). He is an advocate and solicitor of the Supreme Court of Singapore, a barrister of Gray's Inn (England), and a qualified attorney of New York State (USA).

He joined the NUS Faculty of Law in 1993. His research interests lie in criminal law and family law which in recent years have extended to child law, victims of crime and elder law. He is a regular speaker at conferences and forums on criminal law and family law.

Mr Chan has published extensively in the areas of criminal law and family law. His most recent book publications are Support for Victims of Crime in Asia (2008), Criminal Law in Malaysia and Singapore (2007), and Criminal Law in Malaysia and Singapore: A Casebook Companion (2009). He was also the contributing author in criminal law for the Annual Review of Singapore Cases for 2000 to 2005, and again in 2007.

Mr Chan contributes his expertise to the wider community in different capacities. He has been, at various times, a member of the Elder Protection Team, the Maintenance of Parents Tribunal, the Board of Visitors of Children’s Homes, the Inter-Ministry Committee on the Convention on the Rights of the Child, Ethics Review Committee of the Health Promotion Board, and the Criminal Legal Aid Scheme Committee. He was also a mediator in divorce cases with the Family Court. He was awarded the Ministry of Community Development’s Outstanding Volunteer Award in 1999 for his public service as a Gazetted Volunteer Probation Officer.

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Mr Jaya Prakash

Mr Jaya Prakash graduated from the University of Singapore with the degree of Bachelor of Laws (Honours) in 1974. He was admitted as an Advocate and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Singapore in January 1975. He was in active legal practice until 1998 when he took on his present responsibility as the Managing Director of Pandisea Pte Ltd (exclusive correspondents to The Brittania Steam Ship Insurance Association Limited).

Mr Prakash is a Fellow of the Singapore Institute of Arbitrators and a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. He is a Member of the Regional Panel of Arbitrators of the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC), and accredited Arbitrator to the Singapore Institute of Arbitrators, Singapore Chamber of Maritime Arbitration, the Regional Centre for Arbitration Kuala Lumpur, the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre and the Cairo Regional Centre for International Commercial Arbitration. Mr Prakash is also an accredited mediator to the Singapore Mediation Centre (SMC).

Mr Prakash is a member of the Ethics Committee of the Law Society of Singapore, a member of the Appeals Panel of the Maritime & Port Authority of Singapore on the Accreditation of Bunker Suppliers, and a member of the Resource Panel of the Government of Singapore Parliamentary Committee on Transport

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Mr Adrian Soon

Mr Adrian Soon Kim Kwee graduated from the University of Singapore in 1968 with the degree of LLB (Hons). In Aug 1968, he was enlisted for full-time National Service. He successfully underwent training in the Singapore Armed Forces Training Institute (SAFTI) and was commissioned as an Officer in 1969.

Upon completion of his 3 years full-time NS, he joined the Singapore Legal Service in 1971. He was appointed a Deputy Public Prosecutor and State Counsel. In 1972, he was appointed a Magistrate of the Subordinate Courts. From 1974 to 1976, he was seconded to the Singapore Armed Forces Permanent President, General Courts Martial where he held the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. From May 1976, he was appointed a District Judge and held this position until his retirement on 4 March 2005. As a DJ, he had presided in the Criminal Division, the Civil Division, and the Family Court. While in the Criminal Division, he was a Group Manager in charge of a cluster of judicial officers. He was a Settlement District Judge in the Primary Dispute Resolution Centre of the Subordinate Courts from May 2003 to 2005. He is an Advocate & Solicitor as well as a Deputy Registrar of Marriage/Licensed Solemnizer.

As the Chief Executive, JUSTNET (the Subordinate Courts’ Computerisation Programme), Mr. Soon spearheaded the computerization of the courts from 1993 to 1996 transforming the Subordinate Courts to become a leading world-class exponent of Court Technology. He had also held the post of Chairman of the Hotels Licensing Board, Deputy Chairman, Tenant Compensation Board and Assistant Commissioner, SAF Requisition of Resources Compensation Board.

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Mr Robert Wong

Mr Robert Wong is a lawyer by profession. He is currently the director in charge of the corporate department of Straits Law Practice LLC.

He graduated from the National University of Singapore in 1983 and joined Messrs Khattar Wong & Partners after being called to the bar in 1984. In June 1992, he left Messrs Khattar Wong & Partners to join Haw Par Brothers International Limited as group general manager in charge of legal and administration matters. In January 1993, he returned to Messrs Khattar Wong & Partner as a partner. In 1997, he joined Messrs David Lim & Partners as its senior partner in charge of the corporate department. In 1999, he left to set up his own practice. In 2003, he joined Messrs Hee Theng Fong & Co. as a Consultant. In October 2003, he joined Straits Law Practice LLC as a Director.

Mr Wong practices mainly corporate law with particular emphasis in corporate finance. He has acted as solicitor in numerous initial public offers, rights issue, issue of debentures, takeovers, mergers and acquisition and joint ventures.

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Mr Dato Jude Philomen Benny

Managing Partner, Joseph Tan Jude Benny, Advocates & Solicitors, Singapore
Director, Maritime & Port Authority of Singapore (MPA)
Director, Singapore Maritime Foundation (SMF)

LLB (Hons), London. Queen Mary College, London University.

Barrister-at-Law, Middle Temple
Advocate & Solicitor, Singapore
Commissioner for Oaths
Notary Public

Called to Bar In Singapore : 1983
Date of Birth: 28 October 1957
Place of Birth: Singapore
Practice Areas: Commercial and shipping litigation, ship financing and project financing.  Specialises in Civil Litigation, Shipping & Admiralty Law, Insolvency Law and Insurance Law.

Notable Cases: Has argued cases that have become leading authorities in the following areas: Possessory Liens ("The Alpha 601" - Civil Appeal No.237 of 1998) reported in [1999] 3 SLR 249; Retrenchment Benefits (Bethlehem Shipyard - Civil Appeal No.27 of 1994) reported in [1995] 1 SLR 1; Law of fixtures (People's Park Chinatown v. Schindler Lifts - Civil Appeal No.44 of 1989) reported in [1993] 1 SLR 591; Priority payments in liquidations (Joo Yee Construction v Diethelm) Industries - Originating Summons No. 958 of 1989) reported in [1990] SLR 278; What is a "live issue"?  (Attorney - General v. Joo Yee Construction - Civil Appeal No. 30 of 1990) reported in [1993] 1 SLR 272.

Conducted the very first international arbitration at the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) for United Engineers Berhad against a Norwegian company.  The dispute involved the defective sign of an oil rig for use by Petronas and Esso.  The hearing lasted 105 days (SIAC Arbitration No.1/90).

Appeared on behalf of the Malaysian Government in a series of civil cases involving railway land ownership in Singapore; and the Jacques Cousteau Foundation with respect to the sinking of the famous vessel the "Calypso".  Represented Bethlehem Shipyard in a highly-contentious matter concerning the delivery of the "John Brewer", the world's first floating hotel, to the Great Barrier Reef in Australia.  Conducted the two ship collision trials to go to Court in Singapore in the last 40 years, involving the vessels "Ming Galaxy" / "Hercei Novi" and "Tai He"/Nordic Explorer.

Significant Information: Founding Partner and architect of the Firm's growth.   Over the years, has developed the Firm's shipping and admiralty practice into one of the largest in Singapore, and the first to have a global network covering Greece, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia and Taiwan. The Chambers Global Directory 2000 ranked the Firm in the top category of recommended Shipping Firms in Singapore, while The Asia Pacific Legal 500 1999/2000 Edition described Mr Benny as "one of the best respected shipping lawyers in Singapore". He was ranked one of the foremost shipping lawyers in the country by The Euro-Money Legal Group Guide and short-listed by Chambers Global Directory 2000 as one of the "Leaders in their Fields" of Shipping Law. In 2005 Chambers Global described Jude Benny as “An old hand in the game, he knows every rule in the book, and may have written a few himself” and again, “..impressive and quick off the mark”. Who’s Who Legal 2008 entry for the world’s leading maritime lawyers says : “Jude Benny’s involvement in ship collision trials led to high levels of recognition, and he is regarded as a “legend in this field”.

The Trade Development Board of Singapore's(TDB) publication," Tradenews" reported: " A major reason for JTJB's success is the fact that Dato' Benny is regarded within legal circles as one of the world's top maritime lawyers. His firm is well known in London, New York, Hong Kong and other maritime hubs" (Vol 5 Issue 3/2001) 

In 2007, London based Legal Who’s Who named Jude Benny in a group of eleven of the world’s most respected maritime lawyers, citing his work in ship collisions, in particular, and citing him as a “ legend in this field”.

He is an Accredited Arbitrator at the following Institutions:

Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC)
Singapore Chamber of Maritime Arbitration (SCMA)
Singapore Institute of Arbitrators (SIArb)
Korean Commercial Arbitration Board (KCAB)
Badan Arbitrase Nasional Indonesia (BANI)
Kuala Lumpur Regional Center for Arbitration (KLRCA)
Law Society of Singapore Arbitration Scheme

He commenced practice with M/s Drew & Napier, Singapore, before forming the firm of Joseph Tan Jude Benny & Co. in February 1988.

Dato' Benny is a contributing author to three international publications:
International Ship Arrests (Lloyds Press London)
Cross-Border Insolvencies (Oceania Publications)
Atkins Singapore Court Forms – Admiralty (Lexis Nexis)
Guided the firm to the award of Best Shipping Practice in the first Asian Law Awards.

Chairman, Advisory Committee, Singapore Chamber of Maritime Arbitration.

Appointed in 2004, to the Board of Directors, Singapore Maritime Foundation.

Appointed in 2006, to the Board of Directors, Maritime & Port Authority of Singapore.

Awarded the D.I.M.P. Medal, carrying the title of “Dato”, by Malaysia in 2000.

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Mr Danny Chua

Senior Partner,
Head Shipping & Litigation
Messrs Joseph Tan Jude Benny
Advocates & Solicitors, Singapore
BA (Hons), Law
Barrister-at-Law, Gray’s Inn

Upon graduating with a Bachelor of Arts’ Second Class Upper Honours Degree in law and called to the English Bar at Gray’s Inn, Danny returned to Singapore where he commenced practice with Messrs Godwin & Co, then the leading Shipping & Maritime law firm in Singapore before joining Messrs Khattar Wong & Partners in 1989 where he was a partner and Head of the Shipping Department.  He joined Messrs Joseph Tan Jude Benny in September 1999 and now heads its Shipping  & Litigation Department.  Since 2002, Danny is made a Senior Partner of the firm.
 
He specialises in Shipping & Admiralty law and the areas of work include dispute on bills of lading, Charterparties, marine insurance and maritime frauds as well as collisions-at-sea, sinking, fire, salvage, explosions; and, bunker disputes and contamination of liquid cargo.

Danny has argued various notable cases before the Singapore High Court and/or Court of Appeal.  Cases that have become leading authorities are: Sheriff’s Expenses (“The Euroexpress”), Forum Non Conveniens “Oriental Insurance Co Ltd v Bhavani Stores Pte Ltd”), Scope of the wording of a letter of undertaking (“ICL Mahendra”); Exclusive Jurisdiction Clause (“The Jian He”); Effect of an “unless order” and its impact on subsequent orders in the same proceedings (“The Bonito”); Shiprepairers’ Liability as Bailee (“The Wilson Ruby”); Limitation of Liability under a freight-forwarder’s Airway Bill in relation to the regime of the Amended Warsaw Convention (“Powermatic-Apcom System Pte Ltd v Concord Express (S) Pte Ltd”).

He has recently and successfully conducted a trial and its appeal to the Singapore Court of Appeal on a dispute relating to the installation and design of a three dimensional metal ceiling system at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (Iwatani Techno Construction (M) Sdn Bhd) v Gema Metal Ceilings (Far East) Pte Ltd).

He was also previously appointed by BP Shipping Ltd to appear before a Committee of Inquiry investigating into the cause of a flash fire which occurred on board the vessel “British Adventure”.

Danny had also published two articles on Corporate Securities Law:-

1. The Common Law Approach To Insider Trading [1983] 1 MLK cxliv;

1. Statutory Approach to the Control of Insider Trading [1983] 1 MLJ cxliv;

In 2007, Danny also co-authored the inaugural edition of the  Admiralty Practice, Chapter XL VII, Atkin’s Court Forms, Singapore Issue 3, 2007.

Danny was named by Chambers Global Directory 2000 and 2001 Editions as one of the “Leaders in their Field” of Shipping Law and was also listed in the Euromoney Legal Group Guide to the World’s Leading Shipping & Maritime Lawyers.  He was also named in The WHO’SWHOLEGAL, Singapore 2008 Edition.

As part of his duties and obligations towards society, Danny sat and served as Treasurer to The School Advisory Committee of Buona Vista Secondary School from 1990 to 2000 and is presently the Vice Chairman of The School Advisory Committee of Queensway Secondary School.

Danny is also elected to the International Bunker Industry Association (Asia) Executive Committee.

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Mr Philip Fong

Philip is Head of the Civil and Commercial Litigation Practice Group and Co-Head of the Regulatory Compliance and Commercial Fraud Practice Group.

Philip has extensive experience in commercial litigation (contracts), corporate(shareholders and employees), property disputes (en bloc and trusts) and
judicial review and is consistently identified as a leading business crimelawyer in leading directories such as Who’s Who Legal. In the area of regulatory compliance, with his past experience as a prosecutor in the Singapore Commercial Affairs Department (CAD), Philip is constantly sought for his advice on securities laws (insider trading and market manipulation)
and corporate compliance (directors’ statutory and regulatory duties). He has also assisted professional bodies such as the Institute of Certified Accountants of Singapore and the Singapore Medical Council in several prosecution actions involving doctors and accountants. He has acted for a leading car distributor in the first ever action against a government transport authority in relation to a dispute relating to car taxes.

Most recently he advised minority subsidiary proprietors in relation to the collective sale of the Horizon Towers, which is one of the landmark decisions made by the Strata Titles Board.
Philip is a regular speaker at business forums and seminars on the subject of securities fraud, corruption, enforcement actions of government agencies and issues relating to directors’ duties and other white collar crimes.

Philip used to serve as Assistant Director (Investigations) in the CAD where he led a number of high profile prosecutions under the Companies Act and the Securities and Futures Act. He was also instrumental in the establishment of the first anti-money laundering department in the CAD.

In addition to a law degree from the University of London, Philip also graduated from the University of Adelaide with an Honours degree in Economics (majoring in Accounting).
Philip was a Government scholar and was called to the Singapore Bar in 1995.

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Mr KS Rajah, Senior Counsel

Mr Rajah is presently a Consultant of the Firm. He was one of the pioneer batch of Senior Counsel who were appointed in 1997.

In 1998 Mr Rajah was appointed as member of the Singapore Mediation Centre and in 2003 was appointed as member of the Singapore International Arbitration
Centre. He has acted as a Chairman and sole arbitrator in both domestic and international arbitrations in Singapore and under ICC and UNCITRAL Rules. He
is a referee under the Ministry of Manpower Industrial Arbitration Court. Mr Rajah has acted as arbitrator in cases involving contract, commercial and construction
issues where the applicable law has been other than Singapore law for example Thai, Indian, Bangladeshi, Indonesian and English law.

He has served as a Deputy Public Prosecutor and Senior State Counsel whilst in the Singapore legal service. He later served as a Judicial Commissioner at the
Singapore Supreme Court from 1991 to 1995 in the Singapore Judicial Service.

Before joining the Firm, Mr Rajah was leading the Civil and Criminal sections of the Attorney-General’s Chambers and was Director of the Singapore Legal Aid
Bureau. Mr. Rajah also served as President for the Tribunal for the Maintenance of Parents and as the Chairman of the Singapore Law Society Committee on
Guidance for the Legal Profession on Anti-Money Laundering. In his career as a litigator and an arbitrator, Mr Rajah has written and contributed more than twenty articles to the Malayan Law Journal and to the Singapore Law Gazette. In October 2008 the Law Society of Singapore conferred on Mr KS Rajah, Senior Counsel, the prestigious CC Tan Award.

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Peter Gabriel

Peter Gabriel obtained his LLB (Hons) - 2nd Upper Division, in Singapore in 1981. He was the top student in the 1st (1977 – 78) year and was awarded The Law Society Book Prize. He was then awarded the Australian National University Master’s Degree Scholarship pursuant to which he was conferred a Master of Laws degree by the Australian National University, Australia. His thesis formed the subject matter for his book “LEGAL ASPECTS OF SYNDICATED LOANS” published in 1986 by Butterworths of London as part of their Banking Law series. This book is still cited as authority on the subject matter both in England and Singapore. Peter has also contributed to the Finance and Banking section of Halsbury’s Laws of Singapore volume 12, which is published under the patronage of the Singapore Academy of Law.

Peter Gabriel was admitted as an Advocate & Solicitor to The Singapore Bar in 1982. He was admitted as a Solicitor, England and Wales (UK) in 2003. He is also a member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (UK) and fellow of the Singapore Institute of Arbitrators.

He has also taught commercial law in the Business Administration Faculty at the National University of Singapore and the Law Faculty at the Australian National University.

Peter Gabriel started his legal career at M/s Donaldson & Burkinshaw followed by M/s Arthur Loke & Partners (then associated with M/s Baker & McKenzie). He specialises in finance and banking (in particular structured trade finance and loan syndications),
and also practises corporate law, including the handling of capital market instruments. He has undertaken complex corporate litigation work in Singapore, Switzerland and the Bahamas.

Work previously carried out include structured trade finance, note issuance facilities, negotiable certificates of deposit, cross border lease finance, ship financing, mortgage loan financing, joint venture agreements, corporate restructures, share option schemes, liquidations, distributorship and licensing agreements, leasing and hire-purchase agreements, mergers and acquisitions, repossession of vessels and equipment. Peter has also undertaken a significant amount of regional work, particularly in Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Hong Kong, Australia and China. Some of the major works done or currently being done by him include the financing of the acquisition of hotels, the setting up of the whole of a lottery system, the financing of the Promenade Building in Singapore, structured trade finance involving commodities and receivables. Peter also advises and regularly provides legal opinions to a major London City commercial law firm on finance and corporate matters.

Some recent work include a major International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) arbitration on a complex finance structure in Singapore, SIAC Arbitration, advising a financial institution on certain complex aspects of stamp duty, commodity financing deals in China, joint venture agreements, bilateral loans involving clients in Indonesia, the Philippines and Singapore, trade finance litigation (letters of credit and trust receipts) and advising public accountants in relation to the operations of listed companies. Peter has successfully completed the acquisition of a public listed company in Singapore for a European conglomerate, which is now poised to enter into further mergers and acquisition in Asia. He has advised venture capital companies on regional mergers and acquisitions, having recently completed one such major acquisition. Current documentation work undertaken by the firm includes a multi-million dollar oil and natural gas structured financing in the region.

Peter has been extensively involved in litigation and arbitration work at the highest corporate level. The claims involved banking institutions or large corporate bodies as clients. The litigation is specialised in that the matters required a thorough knowledge of banking and documentation, trade financing, shipping, corporate and commercial laws. Peter has also conducted many trials in the Singapore High Court, most of which involve financial institutions.

Peter was appointed as Regional Arbitrator by Singapore International Arbitration Centre in May 2003. Peter was involved as one of three arbitrators in a major dispute between European and Indonesian parties. He wrote the final award. He has sat as a sole arbitrator under SIAC rules in respect of 2 major international arbitrations and is also having another.

Some of the recent cases done by Mr. Peter are reported as shown in the schedule.

LIST OF MATTERS RECENTLY LITIGATED – 2002 TO PRESENT

1. ADANI WILMAR LTD V COOPERATIEVE CENTRALE RAIFFEISEN-BOERENLEENBANK BA ('RABOBANK NEDERLAND'), [2002] 4 SLR 217
SUIT NO 909 OF 2001, HIGH COURT, 14-16, 18-20 FEBRUARY 2002, 15 JUNE 2002, KAN TING CHIU J
2. BAKERY MART V AVANTE & ANOR S887/2002/H HIGH COURT, RAJENDRAN J
3. BAKERY MART PTE LTD (IN RECEIVERSHIP) V SINCERE WATCH LTD
[2003] 2 SLR 462, CHAO HICK TIN JA AND TAN LEE MENG J
4. BNP PARIBAS V BANDUNG SHIPPING PTE LTD (SHWETA INTERNATIONAL PTE LTD AND ANOTHER, THIRD PARTIES) [2003] 3 SLR 611,
BELINDA ANG J
5. SUIT NO. 433 OF 2004/P PINE TREE CONDOMINIUM PTE LTD (PLAINTIFF) V FONG WEI CHIN (DEFENDANT) & M/S YU & CO (3RD PARTY), CHOO HAN TECK J
6. ORIGINATING SUMMONS NO. 249/2004 BAKERY MART PTE LTD (IN RECEIVERSHIP) AS PLAINTIFF, NG WEI TECK MICHAEL, CHAY FOOK YUEN PETER AND CULINA PTE LTD AS DEFENDANTS, HIGH COURT, BELINDA ANG J
7. OCBC V HIJAU ENERGY RA 148/2004 HIGH COURT, BELINDA ANG J
8. BAKERY MART PTE LTD V NG WEI TECK MICHAEL AND OTHERS [2005] 1 SLR 28, BELINDA ANG J
9. CITY HARDWARE PTE LTD V KENRICH ELECTRONICS PTE LTD [2005] 1 SLR 733 , V K RAJAH J
10. CITY HARDWARE PTE LTD V GOH BOON CHYE [2005] 1 SLR 754
VK RAJAH J
11. WESTACRE INVESTMENTS INC V STATE-OWNED COMPANY YUGOIMPORT SDPR, [2007] 1 SLR 501 KAN TING CHIU J
12. CIVIL APPEAL NO: 14/2005/H - SUIT NO. 215/07/C, SM TRADING SERVICES V INTERSANCTUARY LTD, CHAN SEK KEONG CJ, ANDREW PHANG JA, LAI SIU CHIU J
13. CIVIL APPEAL NO. 43/2006/E – SUIT NO. 470/2005/Z, WBG NETWORK (S) PTE LTD V SUNNY DAISY LIMITED, ANDREW PHANG JA, BELINDA ANG J, CHOO HAN TECK J
14. CIVIL APPEAL NO: 74/2006/A – SUIT NO: S24/2005/N –TCL INDUSTRIES(M) SDN BHD VICC CHEMICAL CORPN , CHAN SEK KEONG CJ, ANDREW PHANG JA, ANDREW ANG J
15. CIVIL APPEAL NO. 141/2006/C - WESTACRE INVESTMENTS INC V YUGO IMPORT SDPR, CHAN SEK KEONG CJ, ANDREW PHANG JA AND V K RAJAH J
16. CIVIL APPEAL NO. 145/2006/V - YUGO IMPORT SDPR V WESTACRE INVESTMENTS INC, CHAN SEK KEONG CJ,ANDREW PHANG JA AND V K RAJAH J
17. SUIT NO. S24/2005/N: TCL INDUSTRIES(M) SDN BHD VICC CHEMICAL CORPN BELINDA ANG J
18. SUIT NO. 499/2007/B:BRUNEL INT’L S.E.A PTE LTD V MARK JAN WOUDSTRA, SIMON HUGH CULLUM & ENERGY RESOURCING S P LTD, MAREVA INJUNCTION BEFORE TAY YONG KWANG J
19. SUIT NO. 499/2007/B:BRUNEL INT’L S.E.A PTE LTD V MARK JAN WOUDSTRA, SIMON HUGH CULLUM & ENERGY RESOURCING S P LTD, ANTON PILLAR BEFORE ANDREW ANG J
20. SUIT NO. 466/3006/W: [2008] SGHC 114 WBG NETWORK (SINGAPORE) PTE LTD V MERIDIAN LIFE INT’L PTE LTD, TRIAL BEFORE ANDREW ANG J.
21. SUIT NO. 499/2007/B:BRUNEL INT’L S.E.A PTE LTD V MARK JAN WOUDSTRA, SIMON HUGH CULLUM & ENERGY RESOURCING S P LTD, TRIAL BEFORE TAY YONG KWANG J

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Mr. Joel Lee

Associate Professor, Faculty of Law, National University of Singapore

Associate Professor Lee has been with the Faculty of Law of the National University of Singapore since 1993. An Honours graduate of the Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand, A/P Lee spent 2 years in New Zealand legal practice before returning to Singapore. He later went on to obtain his Masters of Law at Harvard Law School where he focused his research and studies on Conflict Resolution. A/P Lee was one of the pioneers who spearheaded and taught the conflict resolution workshops at the Faculty of Law.

Apart from Conflict resolution, A/P Lee’s also conducts research in the area of Conflict of Laws and has been the author for this subject for the Singapore Academy of Law Annual Review of Singapore Cases since 2000. A/P Lee has been involved with the Singapore Mediation Centre since its inception and continues to be involved with the SMC as a trainer, a Principal Mediator and an academic resource. He has been a member of the Resource Panel of Ministry of Law, ADR Division (2000-2004) and a Member of the Law Reform Sub-Committee on Contract Choice of Law (2002-2003). A/P Lee presently sits on the Subordinate Courts ADR Advisory Council.

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Dr Toh See Kiat

Dr Toh See Kiat has a Bachelor of Laws (Honours, NUS), Master of Laws (Harvard) and a PhD in Law (London). He is an Advocate and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Singapore, a Solicitor of England and Wales, Fellow of the Singapore Institute of Directors, Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing (UK) and Senior Member of the Singapore Computer Society.

He is a Chairman of Goodwins Law Corporation. Besides being an accredited mediator of the Singapore Mediation Centre, Dr Toh practices and conducts seminars on information technology, intellectual property, competition, commercial and corporate law. Dr Toh is also an adjudicator on the panel of Financial Industry Disputes Resolution Centre Ltd. Dr Toh has also advised government agencies in Singapore, Bahrain, Dubai and Abu Dhabi on law of reform and drafted legislation for Abu Dhabi and Dubai and also for Vietnam as an Asian Development Bank Consultant.

Dr Toh is the author of Paperless International Trade Law of Telematic Date Interchange (Butterworths Asia, 1992) and co-editor of Legal Aspects of Doing Business in Singapore (Addison-Wesley, 1996).

Dr Toh is a former Singapore Member of Parliament and President of the Consumers’ Association of Singapore (1995-2000). He wears many hats in public service, including being presently a member of the Board of Governors of Temasek Polytechnic, Singapore; member of the National Trust Council, and the Singapore EDIFACT Committee; and an expert on the DocDex Panel (documentary credit disputes) of the International Chamber of Commerce. He is also Honorary Legal Advisor of the Information Technology Management Association (Singapore) and the Singapore Computer Society.

Dr Toh is also a founder and Chairman of CommerceNet Singapore (part of a global consortium of eBusiness companies) since its inception in 1998.

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Mr Adam Wong Kong Khiong 

Mr Adam Wong is currently the Executive Director of Mayvest Asia Pte Ltd (a training, coaching and consulting company) and Alcyon Creations Pte Ltd. Prior to his current appointment, he was a General Manager with the Standard Chartered Bank in Singapore and Hong Kong.

In his 22 years of banking experience, Mr Wong also held other senior management roles such as Head (Cash Management, Ecommerce and Trade Sales) in DBS Bank, Director (Corporate Banking & Finance) in American Express Bank and Director of a joint venture bank in Indonesia. 

Having strong strategic orientation and regional exposure in South East Asia and Hong Kong, Mr Wong is credited with significantly growing global banks’ SME assets by 450% over a 3-year period in Singapore. He also started a new cash management business for a regional bank and grew it to a USD35 billion business annually.

Graduated in Accountancy, Mr Wong is a Fellow Certified Public Accountant, a Certified Professional Trainer, a Certified Credit Risk Management Professional and a member of the Singapore Institute of Directors.

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Mr Robert Wong Kwan Seng

Mr Robert Wong is a lawyer by profession.

He graduated from the National University of Singapore in 1983 and was called to the bar in 1984.

He had always practiced law in various law firms, except for a short stint as an in-house counsel with a public listed company. He is currently the director in charge of the corporate department of Straits Law Practice LLC.

Mr Wong practices mainly corporate law with particular emphasis in corporate finance. He has acted as solicitor in numerous initial public offers, rights issue, issue of debentures, takeovers, mergers and acquisition and joint ventures.

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Mr David Yeow

Mr David Yeow is a member of the Executive Committee of the law firm, Rajah & Tann. He also heads its Derivatives and Financial Services Regulatory. His practical experience and keen interest is in the areas of banking, securities and derivatives law as well as general corporate law.

Mr Yeow is a Member of the Disciplinary Committee of Singapore Exchange Derivatives Trading Limited (formerly Singapore International Monetary Exchange Limited), a Member of the Rules Committee of Singapore Commodity Exchange Limited, and a Member of the SGX-DT/SIAC Arbitration Committee.

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Mr Jimmy Yim Wing Kuen, SC

Mr. Jimmy Yim is the Managing Director of the Litigation & Dispute Resolution Department at Drew & Napier LLC, a leading legal practice in Singapore established since 1889. He is one of the earliest batches of Senior Counsel appointed in January 1998. He is a Fellow of the Singapore Institute of Arbitrators and a regional arbitrator with the Singapore International Arbitration Centre(SIAC). He is a Member of the Competition Appeal Board appointed by the Minister for Trade & Industry. He is recommended by name in the various editions of Asia Pacific Legal 500 in the area of Dispute Resolution and listed by name in some editions of Asia Law Profiles as part of Drew & Napier’s ‘powerful and effective litigation team’. He was a Member of the Law Reform Committee at the Singapore Academy of Law for 6 years and presently, a statutory appointed Council member of the Law Society of Singapore.

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Mr Francis Goh

Called to the Singapore Bar in 1991, Francis draws upon his experience relating to various aspects of legal practice to prescribe the best legal solution to meet the needs in each situation.

Francis firmly believes that many legal disputes can be avoided by getting the right legal advice early. Hence, much of his practice involves advising individual and corporate clients with particular emphasis on management of risks and business processes. Notably, Francis had served as the In-House Legal Counsel for the Singapore Sports Council advising them on the development and implementation of their legal framework.

As part of the Firm’s Civil and Commercial Litigation Practice Group, he actively argues cases in the Courts, Francis had successfully argued in the Court of Appeal for an implied term of fitness for purpose to be read into a contract and for the Court to apply the Common Law on Bailment to impose liability on the other party. Francis also acted for a Developer involved in an enbloc sale to evict a trespasser, a first in Singapore, where the High Court had the opportunity to review and clarify the applicable law. In another notable case heard in the District Court, Francis successfully represented an individual to sue an unincorporated association for damages for Defamation. He has also participated in foreign courts, providing specialist views and advice on aspects of Singapore law.

Francis is also in charge of the Firm’s Wills, Probate and Letters of Administration department. He regularly gives talks on the importance of having a properly drafted Will as well as guides clients to plan for their accumulation and transfer of wealth.

Francis is an accredited Principal Mediator with the Singapore Mediation Centre, a Fellow with the Singapore Institute of Arbitrators, Commissioner for Oaths and a Notary Public.

As an undergraduate, Francis won top distinction in the Mallal Moots, an annual advocacy competition conducted by the Law Faculty and graduated from the National University of Singapore in 1990.

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Mr Seng Kwang Boon

Mr Seng Kwang Boon is a District Judge with about 23 years of experience on the Bench.

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Mr Lakshmikanth Rao Penna

Mr Lakshmikanth Rao Penna holds a Master of Law from the Stanford Law School and Osmania University and he is an Advocate and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Singapore and an Advocate of the High Court of Andhra Pradesh, India. He is also a member of the Government of Singapore Income Tax Board of Review.

Mr Lakshmikanth is currently a consultant with Lee & Lee, Advocates & Solicitors of Singapore since 2003.

During 1984 and 2005, Penna had taught at the Faculty of Law, National University of Singapore (NUS), and introduced five new subjects. Before joining NUS, he was the Professor of Law and Principal of the University College of Law, Osmania University, Hyderabad, India.

Mr Lakshmikanth was in the Government of Singapore Business Mission to India in 2003 led by the then Prime Minister Mr. Goh Chok Tong. He was a member of the Government of India Delegation, headed by the present Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, to the Second United Nations World Conference on Human Rights, 1993, and its preparatory meetings.

He is involved in international commercial arbitrations and had briefed the Islamic Republic of Iran in a claim before the Iran-US Claims Tribunal, The Hague, The Netherlands. His specialisations include Islamic Law of Banking and Finance.

He was a Gastwissenchaftler (Guest Scholar) at the Max-Planck-Institute for Foreign and International Criminal Law, Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany: a Visiting Professor at the Columbus School of Law, Catholic University of America, Washington, DC: and twice a visiting scholar at the Stanford Law School.

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Ms Wun Wen-Na

Ms Wen-Na was called to the Singapore Bar in January 1994. She was a litigation lawyer, practising insurance and construction law for 4 years. She then moved on to corporate law, starting with general corporate and corporate secretarial work. Up till mid 2006, her practice comprised banking and finance law, corporate finance and mergers and acquisitions. She also spent about 2 years as in-house counsel and Company Secretary of a listed company in Singapore. Wen-Na was on sabbatical from mid 2006 up to end October 2009 and managed to spend some time in a Shanghai law firm during that period.

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Mr Christopher Buay

Christopher BUAY graduated from the National University of Singapore with a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in 1998 and a Bachelor of Laws (Honours) in 2001. He was admitted to the Singapore Bar in 2002 and has been in active practice since. He is currently with the litigation department of Wong Partnership LLP. Christopher’s main areas of practice encompass litigation and arbitration for construction-related disputes, as well as corporate and commercial matters. He is also involved in advisory work involving both local and foreign projects.

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