Davinder Singh

Davinder Singh Sachdev (Punjabi: ਦਵਿੰਦਰ ਸਿੰਘ ਸਚਦੇਵ; born 1 August 1957), SC, is a Singaporean lawyer and the Executive Chairman of law firm Drew & Napier.[1] He was described by Asia Pacific Legal 500 2009/2010 as being "without peer at the bar".[2] He was also a former Member of Parliament for Bishan-Toa Payoh Group Representation Constituency from 1988 to 2006.

Education

Singh was educated in Saint Michael's School, Saint Joseph's Institution, National Junior College and the National University of Singapore (NUS)'s Faculty of Law. He was part of the NUS team which won the 1982 Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition, during which he was also named the Best Oralist.[3]

Singh was appointed Senior Counsel (SC) in 1997. His legal career, spanning over 20 years, covered areas such as banking and corporate litigation, civil and commercial litigation, intellectual property, defamation, trust, tort and negligence.[4]

2005 National Kidney Foundation scandal

In 2005, Singh represented Singapore Press Holdings in a lawsuit brought against them by T. T. Durai (CEO of the National Kidney Foundation (NKF)) for defamation in relation to an article written by one of their correspondents. Durai dropped the case on the second day of the trial.

2014–15 Roy Ngerng defamation case

In 2014, Singh and three other lawyers from Drew & Napier represented Lee Hsien Loong, the Prime Minister of Singapore, in a defamation lawsuit against blogger Roy Ngerng, who was represented by M. Ravi and Eugene Thuraisingam. On 7 November 2014, Justice Lee Seiu Kin found Ngerng to have defamed Lee Hsien Loong in an online article whose contents suggested that the Prime Minister was guilty of criminal misappropriation.[5][6] In July 2015, during a hearing to assess the amount of damages he has to pay Lee Hsien Loong, Ngerng broke down in tears while he was being cross-examined by Singh.[7] On 17 December 2015 Justice Lee Seiu Kin handed down a judgement ordering Ngerng to pay S$100,000 in general damages and S$50,000 in aggravated damages. Ngerng, through his lawyer, Eugene Thuraisingam proposed to pay the S$150,000 in instalments which was granted by the Prime Minister on the condition that Ngerng paid the S$30,000 in hearing costs immediately i.e. by 16 March 2016. Ngerng is expected to repay $100 a month from 1 April 2016 onwards over five years until 1 April 2021 when instalments are increased to S$1,000 until the full sum has been paid by the year 2033.

Apart from his legal career, Singh also served as a Member of Parliament for Bishan-Toa Payoh Group Representation Constituency from 1988 to 2006. He has also held, or currently holds, independent and/or non-executive directorial positions in various companies, including ST Engineering, Singapore Airlines and Singapore Exchange.[4]

References

  1. ↑ "Drew & Napier's Directors: Davinder Singh, SC". www.drewnapier.com.
  2. ↑ Asia Pacific Legal 500 2009/2010, Legal 500, archived from the original on 2010-01-11
  3. ↑ "Jessup Moot Practice Round (with Drew and Napier LLC)". Justifed - NUS Law Club. Justifed - NUS Law Club. 19 March 2012. Retrieved 5 July 2015.
  4. 1 2 "Davinder Singh - Executive Profile". Bloomberg Business. Bloomberg L.P. Retrieved 5 July 2015.
  5. ↑ Lee Hsien Loong v Roy Ngerng Yi Ling [2014] SGHC 230
  6. ↑ Sim, Walter (3 July 2015). "The case in two minutes: Lee Hsien Loong vs Roy Ngerng". The Straits Times. Retrieved 5 July 2015.
  7. ↑ Law, Elizabeth (3 July 2015). "Roy Ngerng cries in court". The New Paper. Retrieved 5 July 2015.
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