SMU Lexicon: Negotiating Damages for Breach of Contract: Morris-Garner v One-Step (Support) Ltd [2018] UKSC 20

Reading Time: 16 minutesIntroduction At the quantification stage in breach-of-contract claims, claimants must sometimes think out of the box. Where no loss has been suffered or loss is hard to prove, one solution is to argue for “negotiating damages”, or damages for breach of contract assessed by reference to the sum a claimant could hypothetically have received in […]

DDoS attack – cybercrime for misusing a victim’s computer through the victim’s website

Reading Time: 4 minutesIntroduction In a recent case HKSAR v Chu Tsun Wai [2019] HKCFA 3, the Court of Final Appeal (“CFA”) set out the basis to which a cyber-attacker may be found guilty for damaging the other’s property by misusing the victim’s computer through the victim’s website. Background On 12 October 2014, Mr Chu Tsun Wai (“Mr Chu”) took […]

The CFA clarifies the relationship between “bribery” and “misconduct in public office” in Donald Tsang’s case

Reading Time: 5 minutesIntroduction In our previous newsletter “Donald Tsang’s Conviction Sheds Light on the Offence of Misconduct in Public Office”, we discussed the conviction in February 2017 of Mr Donald Tsang Yam-kuen (“Tsang”), the former Chief Executive of Hong Kong (the “Chief Executive”), of the charge of misconduct in public office. Tsang first appealed to the Court […]

SMU Lexicon: Busting Myths: Understanding Prosecutorial Discretion

Reading Time: 12 minutesIntroduction The December 2017 decision to charge a couple who tortured their flatmate, Annie Ee, with the offence of “voluntarily causing grievous hurt”, as opposed to murder, sparked controversy in Singapore.[1] In response, the Attorney-General’s Chambers (“AGC”) released a media statement explaining its decision,[2] and Attorney-General (“AG”) Lucien Wong referred to the matter in his […]

How do you prove you have no criminal record in Singapore?

Reading Time: 4 minutesSo, you are migrating, adopting a child or getting employed/educated in a different country. You have been requested to produce evidence of a clean criminal record in Singapore. How best would one go about proving a clean criminal record? In such circumstances, it would be best to obtain a document known as a “Certificate of […]

香港:第二次机会──推翻认罪答辩的法律原则

Reading Time: 1 minutes在某些罕见情况下,被告人虽然有代表律师,但在作出认罪答辩前未获其律师提供适当意见(或被告人并无代表律师),则被告人可能需要以认罪答辩含糊为由,申请推翻其答辩。在最近HKSAR v Chan Chi Ho Lincoln [2018] HKCFA 64一案中,终审法院澄清了规管法院就被告人申请推翻认罪答辩而行使酌情权的原则。

Countering Workplace Sexual Harassment in Singapore

Reading Time: 9 minutesThe Story In 60 Seconds There’s no specific law in Singapore that directly addresses sexual harassment in the workplace. However, the Penal Code and the Protection from Harassment Act (POHA) provide measures that cover both physical and non-physical forms of sexual harassment. While no official statistics on the number of sexual harassment cases exist, the […]

What constitutes an illegal public assembly or procession?

Reading Time: 7 minutesIn the past six months alone, several illegal assemblies have left Singaporeans perplexed over what an “illegal assembly” means. This article takes a deeper look into the reasons to why these cases have made the term more contentious of late. In doing so, we hope to help you make a more informed decision before committing […]

When is a civilian allowed to arrest a criminal in Singapore?

Reading Time: 6 minutesTo what extent can civilians be involved in prosecuting a perpetrator? In what ways can civilians as individuals bring justice and be involved within the criminal process? Such questions are posed by ordinary people like us, who doubt whether we have a moral responsibility to bring criminals in light of the law. We as civilians […]

A contract is, but just a click away

Reading Time: 7 minutesAvid shoppers will recognise the wonderful shopping bargains on Black Fridays, Cyber Mondays, 11.11 Singles Day and sales on 12.12. From e-retailers like Redmart to online marketplaces like Carousell, the convenience of the internet has indeed made it much easier for us to indulge in our occasional need for retail therapy. Online communication methods such […]