Rilek1Corner

Tag: High Court

  • NSF Death: High Court Strikes Out Lawsuit Against SAF, Two Officers

    NSF Death: High Court Strikes Out Lawsuit Against SAF, Two Officers

    The High Court has thrown out a suit against the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) brought by the family of a full-time national serviceman who died in 2012 from an allergic reaction to smoke grenades during a military exercise.

    Private Dominique Sarron Lee, 21, collapsed with breathing difficulties during the training exercise on April 17, 2012, and his family sued for negligence on the part of the SAF, his platoon commander and the chief safety officer of the exercise. The defendants argued that they are indemnified from suits for negligence if the deaths or injuries occurred during service, citing a provision under Section 14 of the Government Proceedings Act.

    In a closed-door hearing yesterday, Judicial Commissioner Kannan Ramesh agreed that the incident fell within the provision and dismissed the suit.

    The incident started during an urban obstacle training exercise involving hand grenades at Murai Urban Training Facility at Lim Chu Kang. Lee lost consciousness and was first taken to Sungei Gedong Medical Centre, and then to the National University Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

    In 2013, the State Corner ruled that Lee died from an acute allergic reaction from inhaling zinc chloride fumes, which came from the smoke grenades.

    Mr Irving Choh, who represented Lee’s family, argued that there is a contract between Lee and the SAF. In his submissions, Mr Choh said this issue was “a novel point of law that has never been canvassed before the court and should be given an opportunity to be ventilated”. But JC Kannan disagreed that Lee’s family was entitled to sue for negligence.

    Lawyer R S Bajwa represented platoon commander Captain Najib Hanuk Muhamad Jalal, while safety officer Captain Chia Thye Siong was represented by lawyer Laurence Goh.

    Lee’s mother declined to comment when contacted, but pointed TODAY to her post on a Facebook page dedicated to her son’s memory.

    She wrote: “It has been three years and 10 months since you were taken from me and, still, I haven’t been able to get any closure.” She added that the family has to bear the legal costs for the lawsuit.

    Mr Choh said there is a likelihood that the family is considering to appeal against the High Court’s decision.

     

    Source: www.todayonline.com

     

  • Judge: Woman Dismissed From Civil Service In 1998 Cannot Start Another Legal Action Without High Court’s Permission

    Judge: Woman Dismissed From Civil Service In 1998 Cannot Start Another Legal Action Without High Court’s Permission

    Over the past 15 years, Madam Linda Lai Swee Lin has appeared before 10 High Court judges and had five hearings in the highest court of the land over one matter: Her dismissal from the Civil Service in 1998.

    On Monday, Justice Woo Bih Li agreed with the Attorney-General (AG) that enough is enough, and invoked a provision against Mdm Lai, 59, as a “vexatious litigant”.

    This means she needs to ask the High Court for permission to start another legal action related to her dismissal. Normally, a litigant just needs to file papers with the registry.

    It is rare for the AG to invoke such a provision.

    One previous case happened in 2007 when a property agent convicted of giving false evidence started at least half a dozen legal actions related to the case. In his judgment grounds released on Wednesday (Oct 21), Justice Woo said that it is “apparent that (she) is unwilling or unable to come to terms with any decision of the court that goes against her”.

    Mdm Lai had, however, disputed this, saying she was pursuing the matter because her career was compromised and her reputation was tarnished when she was wrongly accused of being incompetent in her job, among other things.

    The slew of court applications filed by Mdm Lai started in January 2000, slightly over a year after she was dismissed from her job as a senior officer at the Land Office under the Ministry of Law – the termination came after her one-year probation was retrospectively extended.

    Since then, Mdm Lai, who has a Master’s in Law, took up legal action against various parties – including the Government, the AG , and the Public Service Commission – one after another, although the issues in question had been decided by the courts.

    Citing Mdm Lai’s persistent and baseless attempts to re-litigate the matter through various court applications, Justice Woo wrote that she was doing so “in the hope that some court may subsequently rule in her favour”.

    Vexatious litigation causes problems “because it diverts the court’s resources from dealing with meritorious disputes”, he added.

    The judge also stressed that such orders balance the public interest in preventing abuses of the court process and a litigant’s right to pursue avenues of recourse he is statutorily entitled to.

    Justice Woo said: “In my view, her legal battle has gone on for too long. It is in the interest of the court, society in general, the AG and Mdm Lai herself that I grant the AG’s application. It is my sincerest hope and desire that this order will help Mdm Lai move on with her life.”

     

    Source: www.channelnewsasia.com

  • Two Ang Mohs Fight Outside Subordinate Courts

    30747322 - 14_02_2014 - rwpunch-001

    Shirts were torn, faces scratched and a shopping bag swung when two men and a woman fought outside the Subordinate Courts on Thursday.

    As the men exchanged blows, the woman also joined in for good measure. Her weapon of choice — a shopping bag that she swung at one of the men who had earlier confronted her.

    It took about 10 security personnel and police officers another 10 minutes to calm them down and send them on their way.

    A Subordinate Courts spokesman said the parties were in court to attend a hearing for an application for leave to appeal to the High Court in a Small Claims Tribunals case. The application was denied.

    Source: TNP