Pui Yee is an Of Counsel in our Litigation and Dispute Management Practice Group. She specialises in civil and commercial dispute resolution and is experienced in litigation, arbitration, and mediation.

She has experience in a wide range of contentious and non-contentious work involving various areas of law including company law (shareholder disputes, breaches of directors duties etc.), contracts, sale of goods and services, probate and administration of estate, employment, landlord-tenant, construction, insolvency, and insurance.

Her recent work/experience includes international commercial arbitration matters under various arbitration institutions such as in SIAC (Singapore International Arbitration Centre) as well as representing clients (both corporate and individuals) in Court proceedings at all levels, the Court of Appeal, the High Court, and the State Courts.

Career Achievements / Highlights:

• Acted for an investment holding company listed on the Singapore Exchange in court proceedings involving an injunction to restrain the company from issuing or allotting shares in the company pursuant to subscription agreements. Issues and allegations raised in the proceedings included whether the company’s directors and officers were acting in breach of their duties to the company.
• Acted for the President of the Singapore Hainan Hwee Kuan, in a dispute involving the winding up of the Kheng Chiu Tin Hou Kong and Burial Ground, a company limited by guarantee which holds tens of millions of dollars in assets. The case involves novel legal issues and is highly publicised in the local media as it is of great significance to the Hainanese community in Singapore and involved the unprecedented winding up of a public company limited by guarantee in Singapore. Thereafter, succeeded in achieving an amicable resolution of the long running dispute for the client through mediation and assisting the client on the implementation of a settlement agreement.
• Acted for one of the parties in a multi-party contentious probate court proceedings involving a large estate that included a luxury watch business and several real properties. Successfully argued that there were suspicious circumstances such that there were reasonable grounds to oppose the testamentary instrument on the facts of the case such that parties should bear own costs of the dispute.
• Acted for an Indonesian company in a complex multimillion-dollar international arbitration dispute against a BVI company under the auspices of the Singapore International Arbitration Centre. The arbitration proceedings spanned more than 7 years and involved myriad substantive legal and procedural issues and court applications, including a jurisdictional challenge as well as an application for the setting aside of the arbitral award.
• Acted for a subsidiary of an MNC in the business of information technology systems in a dispute against its ex-employee and another company for breach of confidentiality obligations, lawful and unlawful means conspiracy, inducement of breaches of contracts etc., which involved a 26-day trial. Successfully obtained court orders for damages, account of profits and injunctions to restrain them from using or dealing with trade secrets and confidential / proprietary information.
• Applied to Court on behalf of the Singapore branch of an MNC and successfully obtained search warrants against several companies in respect of a trademark infringement matter. Pursuant to obtaining the search warrants, an island-wide cooperative raid action with the police was carried out at numerous stores in Singapore, which led to the seizures of hundreds of counterfeit products.
• Acted for a subsidiary of an SGX-listed company in a multimillion-dollar dispute involving the development, manufacturing, and supply of the world’s first modular smartphone.
• Acted for a private individual in a dispute involving breaches of warranties in a share subscription agreement in respect of a business investment deal valued at around RM700million, and which related to shares of companies which conducted business in Malaysia in the hospitality and tourism industry.
• Achieved a desirable outcome for clients in a cross-border dispute involving a series of court proceedings in Singapore, both at the Supreme Court and State Courts levels, as well as concurrent Court and arbitration proceedings in the People’s Republic of China; Disputes involved allegations of conspiracy, misappropriation, forgery of documents and contracts.
• Acted for a China national who was charged with offences under the Residential Property Act involving properties worth more than S$6 million in total, and successfully argued for a fine to be imposed for the offences instead of a jail sentence, in light of the mitigating factors in the case.
• Acted for an individual and successfully argued against an application by the opposing party for declarations that various real properties and inheritance monies were subject to a trust. Case involved various legal issues including whether express trusts and/or resulting trusts were created on the facts of the case.

Some Notable Reported Judgements:

1. 3D Infosystems Pte Ltd (formerly known as 3D Networks Singapore Pte Ltd) v Voon South Shiong and another [2024] SGHC 237
2. Ong Han Nam v Borneo Ventures Pte Ltd [2023] SGHC(A) 30
3. WHR and another v WHT and others [2023] SGHCF 32
4. CKH v CKG [2022] 2 SLR 16
5. 3D Networks Singapore Pte Ltd v Voon South Shiong and another [2023] 4 SLR 396
6. Borneo Ventures Pte Ltd v Ong Han Nam [2022] SGHC 162
7. Lau Yaw Ben v Lau Wee Hion and another [2022] SGHC 130
8. Phua Kiah Mai v The Kheng Chiu Tin Hou Kong and Burial Ground [2022] SGHC 36

Some Client Testimonials:

• “Having worked closely with Pui Yee on several matters over the past few years, I can attest to her diligence, dedication and responsiveness. Pui Yee is a highly competent and astute litigator, who adopts a pragmatic, commercial, and solution driven approach to dispute resolution.” – Regional Legal Counsel of a private investment company with assets exceeding US$1billion.
• “I have been working with Pui Yee for a number of years for various legal proceedings. When things reached an impasse with the adverse parties in the proceedings, she thought out of the box and offered sensible and practical advice to me. Her research and advice had helped me greatly and enabled me to weigh my options and make well-considered decisions… Pui Yee has also always been very helpful and quick to respond to my queries.” – Managing Director of a company in the business of manufacture and repair of oilfield and gasfield machinery and equipment.
• “Pui Yee joined one of our most complex & mind-boggling litigation matters in Singapore. As clients, we are appreciative of lawyers who “tell us as it is”, and she quickly took to this like a duck to water. Her practical, and forward-thinking solutions to issues that we hadn’t foreseen is a credit not only to her training, but a testament to her maturity in thinking 2 or 3 steps ahead… Very rarely do we see this level of talent in litigation attorneys under 40, where client care encompasses both “client best interest” and “client hand holding”. As a corporation with multiple entities in Singapore, we have made it a point to request that Pui Yee be part of the team for all our litigation matters moving forward.” – Group Legal Counsel of a group of companies with a presence in 8 countries, headquartered in Singapore.
• “Having worked on a matter with Pui Yee, I am greatly impressed by her dedication to the matter, understanding of the law, mastery of the complicated facts of the case, and promptness in response. I would also like to commend her for her patience in listening to my queries and her ability to provide easy to understand explanations to laypersons like me. In my view, she has the attributes of an excellent lawyer and I will not hesitate to recommend her to anyone who requires legal services. It is a pleasure to have worked with her.”

• “I’ve had the pleasure of working with Pui Yee over the past few years. Her poise and temperance belies a sharp and meticulous mind. While seemingly reserved, Pui Yee cares very deeply which shows in the quality of our engagement. I’m grateful to have her on my team, especially when the going gets tough.”  – Ms Elaine Ong, CEO, Pelican Paradise Group