LIM TONG CHUAN
Director
Litigation & Dispute Resolution Dept
Tel: +(65) 6622 3861
Send email
Qualification and Admission
LL.B. (Hons), Brunel University, United Kingdom (1990)
Advocate & Solicitor, Supreme Court of Singapore (2001)
Advocate & Solicitor, High Court of Malaya (1992)
Barrister-at-law, England and Wales (1991)
About Tong Chuan
Tong Chuan is a member of the Honourable Society of Inner Temple and was called to the Bar in England and Wales in 1991. He underwent pupillage and started his legal practice in 1992 at Allen & Gledhill in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. During his 9-year practice in Kuala Lumpur, he was involved extensively, in litigation work. To a lesser extent, he was also acted in some conveyancing matters.
In 2001, Tong Chuan started practising law in Singapore. By this time, he has concentrated his practice wholly in litigation and dispute resolution work. Tong Chuan has conducted many trials and appeals and has appeared at all levels of the Court in Singapore. He has also handled numerous arbitration matters.
Areas of Practice
Tong Chuan has acted in both arbitration and court litigation matters. His practice include areas of law such as defamation, personal injuries, workmen compensation, negligence, shipping, marine insurance, construction disputes, commercial and contractual disputes, individual and corporate insolvency, banking law, trademark objections to registration and infringements, sale of goods and agency.
Experience
Some of the cases handled by Tong Chuan are :
Aviation Law
Tong Chuan advised and acted for the Taiwan government’s Airport Authority in the air disaster of SQ006 of Singapore Airlines in Taipei. He defended the Taiwanese Airport Authority (Civil Aeronautics Administration) from third party claims brought by Singapore Airlines and was successful in persuading the Singapore Courts to stay the proceedings in Singapore on grounds of lis alibi pendens and forum non conveniens [Ang Ming Chuang v. Singapore Airlines Ltd (Civil Aeronautics Administration, third party) [2005] 1 SLR(R) 409; [2004] SGHC 263]
Shipping and Marine Insurance
Tong Chuan has acted for various shipping lines and advised them on claims arising from carriage of goods by sea as well as marine insurance claims.
Construction
Tong Chuan is familiar with both the PAM [Persatuan Akitek Malaysia (Malaysian Institute of Architects)] and SIA (Singapore Institute of Architects) building contracts on both sides of the straits (of Johor). Some of the clients whom he has acted for include the Sunway Group, a conglomerate in Malaysia and the China Construction Group in Singapore.
Tort
Some of the cases that Tong Chuan has acted in, include libel and slander cases. He has also acted in professional negligence cases involving the securities and financial market.
Banking
Apart from the usual mortgagee’s and insolvency proceedings, Tong Chuan has also conducted trial on a cheque forgery matter which was complicated by its cross-border clearance. He has also advised bank institutions in liquidation proceedings.
Commercial
Tong Chuan has acted in a wide variety of commercial disputes. For example, he has acted for Sony Corporation in a complex case concerning competing set-off rights involving multiple parties in 3 different jurisdictions and conflicting lex fori. He also represented a Taiwanese conglomerate in a claim of USD20 million involving allegations of fraud and corporate conspiracy and various other contractual claims. This was a protracted and complex litigation that went all the way to the Court of Appeal. (Fornet Enterprise Co. Ltd. v. Howell Universal Pte Ltd and others [2006] 2 SLR(R) 349; [2006] SGHC 33)
Sale of goods and Agency
Tong Chuan has conducted numerous trials involving international sale of goods. One such case concerned a contract governed by German law in which the German sellers sought to enforce a retention of title clause against competing claims by the buyer’s liquidators. (Stahltec Metallhandels GmbH v. Chuan Ann Metals Pte Ltd. [2005] SGHC 46)
Personal
Squash is one of Tong Chuan’s favourite way to unwind and work up a sweat. For pursuits that are less abusive on knee-joints, he’s equally content to stare at people, landscape and architecture through a lens, as he is staring at sea creatures and gliding through reefs.
