UKSLSS: Weekly Legal Updates

UKSLSS Weekly Legal Updates

24/11/14 8:23 pm

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Editorial Foreword
Dear Readers,
Singapores legal scene has seen many exciting and controversial developments
over the past year. We now see compliance with new MDA regulations by online
news websites, while also hearing their accompanying criticisms. The increasing
number of university students choosing to undertake a legal education has also
prompted discussion about the purpose of lawyers in society and whether the path
after legal education should strictly be confined to legal practice.
In the coming academic year, the UKSLSS hopes to further previous editorial
initiatives. We will continue to run legal updates on a weekly basis, and also
encourage all members to regularly visit Singapore Law Watch and Lexology to keep
up to speed with developments back home
In addition, we hope to continue to push boundaries with our annual editorial, Lex
Loci, and look forward to expanding our readership through covering a wider variety
of topics and representing diverse viewpoints. We look forward to working with
contributing members on Lex Loci 2015. Should you wish to apply to contribute to
the editorial, please contact editorial@ukslss.net.
We thank you for your continued support of our editorial efforts and wish you a
pleasant read.

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UKSLSS: Weekly Legal Updates

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Contempt
of CourtPast Issues
Doctor loses
Share
Results in 6-month
sentencing appeal
Jail Term
in medical
negligence case

Subscribe

A managing director of a
company, who is in his 60s, has
been jailed for six months for
flouting court orders. This is
believed to be the longest
sentence given for contempt of
court arising from a civil suit.

Moses Tay's assets and those of

his company had been frozen
after being sued by Maruti
Shipping for breaches of contract
and trust. Tay informed Maruti's
lawyers that documents were
with auditors when they were not.
He also withdrew $380,000 from
his bank account in August 2010.
Judicial Commissioner Edmund
Leow made it clear in the
judgment grounds released on
Monday that a prison sentence
was not the starting point for
contempt of court and was
instead "normally a measure of
last resort".
However, Tay had displayed a
"cavalier
attitude
towards
compliance" in flouting the
orders, the "most audacious" of
which was to withdraw the
money. As for the sentence
given, JC Leow said: "There is no
doubt that prison life is harsh, but
in the end the court is
constrained by the need that the
punishment is appropriate."
Source: Straits Times, 14
November.
To read the full article on
Singapore Law Watch click here.

TOC Company
registers in
compliance with
MDA Regulations

A
44-year-old
general
practitioner, who was handed a
four-month suspension and a
$5,000 penalty by the Singapore
Medical
Council
(SMC)
disciplinary
committee
for
botching a nose job, lost his
appeal for a lighter sentence for
professional
misconduct
yesterday.
In 2011, a medical negligence
suit brought by Mr Sng against Dr
Amaldass
was
settled
for
$250,000. Dr Amaldass admitted
he had failed to adequately
explain the risks of the procedure
to Mr Sng, who had had five prior
nose jobs. He also failed to
ensure the patient was effectively
sedated before starting the
surgery - when Mr Sng indicated
he was not properly sedated, Dr
Amaldass failed to halt the
procedure and provide pain relief.
Dr. Amaldass also did not tell the
patient that he had left gauze
dressing inside his nasal cavity
and left remnants of a knotted
thread in the area above Mr
Sng's
nose.
Subsequently,
infection set in and, about 10
days later, Dr Amaldass replaced
the infected implant instead of
simply removing it.
A Court of Three Judges upheld
the sentence. They said Dr
Amaldass caused pain and
suffering to his patient, breaching
a fundamental tenet of the
medical profession, which is to
do no harm.
Source: Straits Times, 12
November.
To read the full article on
Singapore Law Watch click here.

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Rich widow's
medical report is
submitted to court,
while tour guide
remains in remand

Translate

A pivotal medical report on the

mental fitness of Madam Chung
Khin Chun, a wealthy widow who
gave control of her assets to a
former tour guide from China,
has been submitted to court.
This was revealed on 12
November after a pre-trial
conference for a hearing on 13
November, during which the
Family Court will decide whether
the 87-year-old widow should be
allowed to revoke the Lasting
Power of Attorney (LPA) that she
gave to Yang Yin in 2012.
A year after meeting her in 2008
while acting as her guide during a
trip to China, Yang moved into
her $30 million Gerald Crescent
bungalow. Not only did Madam
Chung give him the legal powers
to handle her assets when she
lost the mental capacity to do so,
but she also changed her will to
appoint him the sole executor of
her estate on her death.
YANG YIN will have to stay in
remand for at least another three
weeks after an order granting the
former China tour guide bail was
struck down on 11 November.
Source: Straits Times, 13, 12
November.
To read the full article on
Singapore Law Watch click
here and here.

Trade reporting for

FX derivatives
contracts to
commence on 1
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UKSLSS: Weekly Legal Updates

The company behind sociopolitical website The Online

Citizen (TOC), The Opinion
Collaborative Ltd (TOC Ltd), has
submitted its registration forms to
the Media Development Authority
(MDA), in compliance with the
Broadcasting (Class Licence)
Notification, while also flagging
concerns about the regulatory
framework.
TOC Ltd said the MDAs
excessive and unwarranted
concern with foreign funding has
hampered its ability to be an
effective media developer. The
MDAs obsession with foreign
funding,
unfortunately,
also
hampers
our
operational
effectiveness as owners of a
small business, we cannot
possibly afford to spend time
filling in forms every month, it
added.
In response, the MDA said in a
statement that the registration of
TOC Ltd upholds the longstanding principle that politics
must remain a matter for
Singapore and Singaporeans
alone.
Since it was gazetted as a
political
association
and
registered
under
the
Broadcasting (Class Licence)
Notification in 2011, TOC has
been prohibited from receiving
foreign donations or anonymous
donations above S$5,000. TOC
Ltd was incorporated in June this
year to oversee the websites
administrative and management
functions.

24/11/14 8:23 pm

May 2015
Too many lawyers?
Or too few?
Some say too many lawyers are
being minted, resulting in a rush
for training places in law firms.
Others point out that there's a
shortage of family and criminal
practice lawyers. The truth is: It
doesn't matter. Law grads can
excel in banking or politics - and
in the theatre.
"THE first thing we do, let's kill all
the lawyers." Most lawyers are
familiar with Dick the Butcher's
line from Shakespeare's Henry
VI, Part 2. Most also appreciate
its double significance.

The Securities and Futures

(Reporting
of
Derivatives
Contracts) (Amendment No. 2)
Regulations 2014 came into
operation on 1 November 2014. It
sets out the requirements for the
trade
reporting
of
foreign
exchange
(FX)
derivatives
contracts.
Trade reporting is currently
only
required
for
such
contracts traded or booked in
Singapore. The timelines are as
follows:
For FX derivatives
booked in Singapore:

Reporting to start on 1
May 2015 for information
referred to in Parts I and
IV of the First Schedule;
and
Reporting to start on 1
November
2015
for
information referred to in
Part IA of the First
Schedule; and
For
FX
derivatives
contracts
traded
in
Singapore:
Reporting to start on 1
November
2015
for
information referred to in
Parts I, IA, and IV of the
First Schedule.

Typically the line is invoked in

jest - a shorthand example of the
many jokes about lawyers that
accuse our profession of being
something that society would be
better off without. (What's the
difference between a jellyfish and
a lawyer? One's a spineless,
poisonous blob. The other is a
form of sea life.)
But Shakespeare was also
highlighting the role that lawyers
play as the guardians of stability
and order, standing between
society and the unruly mob. If
you want chaos or to start a
revolution, getting rid of the
lawyers is a reasonable first step.
Source: Simon Chesterman,
Straits Times, 1 November.
To read the full article on
Singapore Law Watch click here.

Corporate entities running two

other websites with a sociopolitical bent, The Independent
and Mothership.sg, had earlier
complied with the MDA s
requests to register. But a third
website, the Breakfast Network,
opted to shut down, citing
onerous
registration
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contracts

Only banks and merchant

banks will be required to
report, and reporting is not
specified for any of the following:
subsidiaries of a bank
incorporated
in
Singapore;
finance companies;
insurers;
approved trustees;
holders of a capital
markets services licence;
and
significant
derivatives
holders.
The

following

contracts

have
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UKSLSS: Weekly Legal Updates

requirements.
Source: TODAY, 11 November.
To read the full article on
Singapore Law Watch click here.

24/11/14 8:23 pm

been excluded from the trade

reporting regime:
Click here to view table.
While the definition of booked in
Singapore remains the same,
the definition of traded in
Singapore has been amended.
Under the amended definition, a
contract is traded in Singapore if
it is executed by:
Traders
who
are
employed in Singapore;
or
Traders
located
in
Singapore who have
been executing trades,
or have been authorised
to execute trades, for at
least the last 30 days
prior to the date of the
contract.
Accordingly, contracts executed
by traders on short-term trips or
assignments to Singapore of less
than 30 days will not be regarded
as traded in Singapore. This
amended definition will apply to
all of the derivatives contracts
specified under the Securities
and Futures (Reporting of
Derivatives
Contracts)
Regulations.
Finally, the Monetary Authority of
Singapore has stated in its
Response to Feedback Received
that it will be extending masking
relief to 1 November 2015. This
is due to feedback to its proposal
to remove EU jurisdictions from
the list of jurisdictions for which
masking
of
counterparty
information
is
conditionally
permitted. It has also stated that
it will make legislative changes to
the Securities and Futures Act to
lift banking confidentiality for the
purposes
of
meeting
the
reporting requirements.
Source: WongPartnership, Elaine
Chan and Rosabel Ng.
To read the full article on

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UKSLSS: Weekly Legal Updates

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Lexology click here.

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UKSLSS: Weekly Legal Updates

24/11/14 8:23 pm

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