Issue #30 : Treason
Welcome to the 30th edition of Overheard in Asia!
Here are the 🌶 headlines:
Ling Yah
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Let’s Fight!
2 Singaporean cabinet ministers, K. Shanmugam and Vivian Balakrishnan, have sued the brother of Singapore’s Prime Minister, Lee Hsien Yang (“LHY”), for libel.
Which is Very Big News given the prominence of the Lee family in Singapore!
🍿 What Happened?
On July 2023, LHY accused both ministers on his Facebook page of acting corruptly and for personal gain by having Singapore Land Authority (SLA) provide preferential treatment by illegally felling trees without approval, and also having SLA pay for renovations to 26 and 31 Ridout Road.
LHY refused to withdraw his statements and apologise when asked, claiming that he was merely stating facts.
🔥 Let’s Fight
Things escalated when the two ministers filed a lawsuit against LHY, with a request for damages and an injunction to restrain LHY from publishing or disseminating the allegations he had made.
According to Shanguman, the filing was done in Singapore as the allegedly defamatory statements “related to events in Singapore, and were primarily for a Singaporean audience”.
The court papers were served on LHY via Facebook message on 16 Sept (with court approval).
On 5 Oct, LHY suggested using an independent arbitration to resolve the dispute.
Let’s see how this very Singaporean drama unfolds!
Treason
Is there treason in the air?
🍿 What Happened?
Last month, Taiwan unveiled Hai Sun - its first homegrown submarine.
A huge military milestone given how tense things are with Beijing, who has always regarded Taiwan as part of its territory.
But Pandora’s box exploded when Huang Shu-kuang, the director of the Indigenous Defense Submarine scheme, informed the media that an unnamed lawmaker had continually sabotaged the construction of the submarine prototype and that local arms dealers had leaked information to a Chinese embassy after failing to win the bid!
🚨 What Now?
The Taiwanese prosecutors have gotten involved.
The Taipei District Prosecutor’s Office is:
Leading treason investigations;
Determining whether claims that Chinese spies or organisations affiliated with China were involved would constitute a breach of the National Security Act and Anti-Infiltration Act; and
Investigating disputes between contractors that submitted bids for the program.
A Double Whammy
Brunei Shell Petroleum Co (“BSM”) is going after 2 of Sapura Energy’s subsidiaries for allegedly breaching 2 separate agreements via 2 SIAC arbitrations.
🍿 1st arbitration: Against Sapura Fabrication
On 30 August 2019, BSM and Sapura Fabrication entered into a contract for engineering, procurement, construction, and installation works related to the Salman field development in Brunei.
On 13 May 2023, BSM terminated part of the contract due to alleged breaches by Sapura Fabrication and filed a notice of arbitration with SIAC seeking a declaration that it had validly terminated part of the contract for cause.
🍿 2nd arbitration: Against Sapura Offshore
On 29 February 2020, BSM and Sapura Offshore entered into a contract for the fabrication, transport, installation, and pre-commissioning of pipelines relating to the PRP-7 Pipeline Replacement Project.
On 13 March 2023, BSM reduced the scope of contract due to alleged breaches by Sapura Offshore and filed a notice of arbitration with SIAC seeking a declaration that it had validly reduced the scope of the contract for cause.
With both SIAC arbitrations, BSM is also seeking:
A declaration that the respective Sapura entities had breached the terms of the contract;
Full compensation for the damages suffered resulting from the breaches and termination event; and
An order for indemnification of BSM for all costs, expenses, and fees in the arbitration as well as pre- and post-award interest.
Looks like we'll be hearing about these two parties for the next few years!
Spotlight: Looi Ming Ming (Partner, Eldan Law LLP)
⚒️ What do you do?
As a Partner at Eldan Law LLP, my practice centres on dispute resolution, with a focus on construction law, my specialist area since I was called to the Bar in 2003. On a general commercial litigation front, I’ve just concluded a High Court trial on breach of a duty of care arising from a negligent misstatement in a marketing brochure.
🏆 What is your proudest achievement?
My daughters will joke that it was my aggregate score of 275 for my Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) at the ripe old age of 12! I’d brought up my score with the good intentions of encouraging the pursuit of academic excellence. But it has since backfired and is now simply a way for my girls to take digs at me - “Yes 275”- they chime with rolled eyes when I (gently) remind them to study!
But in truth, my proudest achievement in life is being a mother. It’s been a joy being with my girls and watching them blossom into loving and kind little humans.
Professionally, successfully obtaining an arbitral award for an American architectural firm (for lead medical planner services for an integrated healthcare project) was extremely rewarding. The arbitration was conducted in a hybrid videoconference/in-person format amidst the COVID-19 lockdown, but we managed to work around the US-Singapore time-difference, for a near-total victory!
⌛ There are now 25 hours in a day! How do you spend your extra hour?
I would dedicate it to exercise! I love staying fit and working out, but this often gives way to the demands of work and life. With an extra hour, I’d be headed to the park for a run, to the gym, or to the yoga studio! Keeping the body healthy nourishes the heart, mind and soul.
🚀 If you weren't a lawyer, what would you do?
I’m always asking my husband when I can retire and be a ‘tai tai’! I would no doubt excel at that. But seriously, I’d love to be an entrepreneur and it would likely involve beauty and wellness. Or I would be in a creative field, using the art of persuasion for filmmaking, storytelling, or the advertising industry.
😋 Your favourite food haunt
I love sushi! But I also have a real soft spot for claypot chicken rice and my favourite one is New Lucky Claypot Rice at 44 Holland Drive. I head there once or twice a month with the family for my fix! Our standard order is for 4 persons, ‘kei liao’, with watercress pork rib soup on the side. With that, life is complete.
Food Feature
If you're ever in the City of Cats aka Kuching in Sarawak, Malaysia, then you'll have to try this classic local dish - kolo mee (curly noodles drenched in pork lard, topped with minced meat & char siew).
As a proud Sarawakian, I refuse to eat kolo mee anywhere outside of my home state because no one ever does this dish justice!
But if you do find yourself in Kuching, you'll find yourself besieged with kolo mee options. They are all slightly different from each other, and every local has their favourite.
Mine can be found at the Premier 101 Food Centre (near the airport). There are many other dishes available, but this is a good one to try!
Trust me. I'm a local. 😉
Details: Google Maps
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