Lawyer’s Profile:

Liew Teck Huat was called to the Singapore Bar in 1989. His practice involved litigation work from the outset.

He commenced practice with Niru & Co in March 1989 dealing essentially, in maritime/admiralty and insurance litigation. In 1991, when Niru & Co merged with Harry Elias & Partners, he became a partner of that firm.  There, Teck Huat’s practice extended to include defamation and intellectual property litigation, apart from his original forte of maritime/shipping and insurance and re-insurance litigation.

In 1993, with the de-merger of the firms, Teck Huat recommenced practice as a partner in the re-constituted firm of Niru & Co., and continued with his extensive practice in insurance & shipping litigation work, whilst continuing to develop defamation and intellectual property litigation.

In October 2001, Teck Huat returned to Malaysia to further his legal practice in Malaysia as well. He joined Zaid Ibrahim & Co. with Niru Pillai and helped to establish its insurance, reinsurance and shipping practice group. He led this group in the Litigation Division until he left Zaid Ibrahim & Co. in June 2004 to start T H Liew & Partners, now known as Zaid Ibrahim Suflan T H Liew & Partners. Teck Huat remains one of a handful of practitioners who practices in both Singapore and Malaysia.

Teck Huat has extensive litigation experience particularly in the areas of insurance, re-insurance, shipping, media (defamation) and intellectual property litigation.  He has appeared before the courts at all levels in Malaysia as well as in Singapore.

Teck Huat represents a large number of insurance companies, shipping companies, press and media corporations, banks and financial institutions in complex claims and disputes in a wide range of fields including insurance, shipping, banking, corporate and commercial, insolvency and construction matters.

He advises and represents the biggest media organization in Malaysia in defamation matters and appears as its Counsel on a regular basis in trials and appeals.

He was admitted to the Brunei High Court on an ad hoc basis as lead counsel for a trial in a defamation action in which he successfully argued the extended parameters of the defence of qualified privilege as expounded by the House of Lords in Reynolds v Times Newspaper [1999] 3 WLR 1010. He has also appeared as counsel in complex defamation actions in Singapore up to the Court of Appeal.

In the field of insurance, re-insurance and shipping, he advises and represents various insurance companies and other corporations in large and complex matters.  He also provides advisory and consultancy services in such matters.  Teck Huat has a number of cases reported in the law reports.

Apart from his extensive litigation practice, Teck Huat also conducts regular conferences and seminars. In 2003, Teck Huat presented a paper on Maritime Arbitration at a seminar organised by the Regional Centre for Arbitration, Kuala Lumpur.

Teck Huat has also been invited to speak on various topics on insurance, reinsurance, shipping and defamation issues to various participants in the industry.

He was a teaching member of the Singapore Law Society Advocacy Committee from 1996 to 1999.  He was also tutor in law in the Faculty of Engineering of the National University of Singapore.

Reported Cases:

• The ‘Asian Plutus’; ‘Asian Plutus’, Owners of Cargo Laden on Board v ‘Asian Plutus’, Owners of & Other Interested Persons – [1990] 2 MLJ 449
• Lim & Sons (Pte) Ltd v Owners of and Other Person interested in the Ship or Vessel ‘Trade Fair’ – [1994] 1 SLR 704
• United Overseas Bank Ltd v Mohamed Arif – [1994] 2 SLR 296
• Owners of the Ship or Vessel ‘Trade Fair’ v Lim & Sons (Pte) Ltd; ‘The Trade Fair’ -[1994] 3 SLR 827
• Uni-France Offshore Engineering Pte Ltd v Owners of and/or Other Persons Interested in the Ship or Vessel ‘Cotan Challenger’; ‘The Cotan Challenger’ – [1996] 1 SLR 297
• Marina Centre Holdings Pte Ltd v Pars Carpet Gallery Pte Ltd – [1997] 3 SLR 625
• The Lotus M – [1997] 2 SLR 570
• Universal Westech (S) Pte Ltd v Ng Thiam Kiat & Ors – [1997] 2 SLR 139
• Penguin Engineering & Construction Pte Ltd v Titan Logistics (S) Pte Ltd (Pioneer Offshore Enterprises Pte Ltd, third party) – [1997] 2 SLR 126
• Pars Carpet Gallery Pte Ltd v Marina Centre Holdings Pte Ltd – [1997] 2 SLR 486
• Ng Thiam Kiat & Ors v Universal Westech (S) Pte Ltd and another appeal – [1997] 3 SLR 419
• Ang Kim Soon v Sunray Marine Pte Ltd – [1997] 3 SLR 619
• Damayanti Kantilal Doshi & Anor v Shobhana J Doshi – [1998] 1 SLR 530
• The Botic – [1999] 4 SLR 749
• Win Line (UK) Ltd v Masterpart (Singapore) Pte Ltd & Anor – [2000] 2 SLR 98
• Overseas Union Insurance Ltd v Turegum Insurance Co – [2001] 3 SLR 330
• Overseas Union Insurance Ltd v Home and Overseas Insurance Co Ltd – [2002] 4 SLR 104
• Overseas Union Insurance Ltd v Home & Overseas Insurance Co Ltd and another application – [2002] 2 SLR 497
• A Kanesananthan v Singapore Ceylon Tamils’ Association [2003] SGHC 93 -[2003] 3 SLR 539
• The “Hyundai Fortune” [2004] 4 SLR(R) 548; [2004] SGCA 41
• Ang Kuang Hoe v Chia Chor Yew [2004] 1 SLR 696
• Putra Perdana Construction Sdn Bhd v AMI Insurance Bhd & Ors – [2005] 2 MLJ 123
• The “Inai Selasih” (ex “Geopoted X”) [2005] 4 SLR 1
• The “Inai Selasih” (ex “Geopotes X”) (Appeal) [2006] 2 SLR 181
• Centaurus Enterprise (S) Pte Ltd v Foong Yew Eong Christopher and Others [2008] SGHC 195
• Ferco Seating Systems (M) Sdn Bhd v The Product People Pty Ltd – [2009] 6 MLJ 874
• Sarawak Shell Bhd v The Owners or other persons interested in The Ship or Vessel ‘The Red Gold’ and another action – [2011] 1 MLJ 239
• The Owners or Other Persons Interested in the Ship or Vessel ‘the Red Gold’ v Sarawak Shell Bhd and another Appeal – [2012] 4 MLJ 729
• AM Assurance Bhd v AXA Affin Assurance Bhd – [2012] 5 MLJ 137
• Sabah Shell Petroleum Co Ltd & Anor v The Owners of and/or Any Other Persons Interested in the Ship or Vessel the ‘Borcos Takdir’ – [2012] 5 MLJ 515
• Seri Mukali Sdn Bhd v Kertih Port Sdn Bhd – [2012] 7 MLJ 437
• Tekital Sdn Bhd v Sarina bt Kamaludin & Ors – [2012] 8 MLJ 734
• Ahmad Zukni Johari v Sistem Televisyen Malaysia Bhd (TV3) & Another – [2012] 6 CLJ 851
• Newfield Peninsula Malaysia Inc v The Owners Of The Ship Or Vessel “Tanjung Pinang 1” [2012] 1 LNS 1084
• Admal Sdn Bhd v The New Straits Times Press (Malaysia) Berhad & Sistem Televisyen Malaysia Berhad [2013] 1 LNS 276
• Perusahaan Sinar Jaya Sdn Bhd v Etiqa Insurance Bhd [2013] 8 MLJ 317
• Dato’ Seri Mohammad Nizar Bin Jamaluddin v Sistem Televisyen Malaysia Berhad & Another [2013] 7 CLJ 483
• Datuk Husam Musa v The New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd & Ors [2013] 1 LNS 798
• Crowe Horwath v Suruhanjaya Sekuriti [2014] 1 LNS 804
• Hong Hin Kay Albert and another v AAHG, LLC and another [2014] SGHC 206
• Best Venue Sdn Bhd v Allianz General Insurance Company (M) Bhd [2015] 4 CLJ 219
• Zaina Salleh Abdul Rahman v The New Straits Time (M’sia) Berhad [2015] 1 LNS 834
• Sistem Televisyen Malaysia Sdn Bhd & Others v Nurullah Zawawi & Anor [2015] 9 CLJ 357
• Columbia Asia Healthcare Sdn Bhd v Hong Hin Kit Edward and another and another appeal [2015] 2 SLR 395
• Allianz General insurance Company (M) Berhad & Others v Kapar Energy Ventures Sdn Bhd [2016] 1 LNS 1784
• AmGeneral Insurance Bhd v Iskandar bin Mohd Nuli [2016] 1 MLJ 818
• Nava Bharat (Singapore) Pte Ltd v Straits Law Practice LLC and another and another appeal [2016] 2 SLR 928
• Tradewaves Ltd and Others v Standard Chartered Bank and another suit [2017] SGHC 93.
• Allianz General Insurance Malaysia Berhad v Maxi Development Sdn Bhd & Ors [2017] 1 LNS 806
• Iskandar bin Mohd Nuli v AmGeneral Insurance Bhd (Previously known as AmG Insurance Bhd) [2017] 5 MLJ 25
• Integrated Marine Works Sdn Bhd v Petronas Penapisan (Melaka) Sdn Bhd [2018] 1 LNS 381
• Prai Power Sdn Bhd v GE Energy Parts Inc & Others [2018] 1 LNS 404
• Lakshmi Anil Salgaocar v Jhaveri Darsan Jitendra [2019] 2 SLR 372
• 3 Corporate Services Pte Ltd v Grabtaxi Holdings Pte Ltd [2020] 4 SLR 941
• Lau Soon & Anr v UOL Development (Dakota) Pte Ltd [2021] SGHC 195
• Smart Property Management (Singapore) Pte Ltd v The Management Corporation Strata Title Plan No 4375 [2022] SGHC 219
• The Jeil Crystal [2021] SGHC 292
• Jethanand Harkishindas Bhojwani v Lakshmi Prataprai Bhojwani (alias Mrs Lakshmi Jethanand Bhojwani) [2021] 3 SLR 1055
• Jethanand Harkishindas Bhojwani v Lakshmi Prataprai Bhojwani (alias Mrs Lakshmi Jethanand Bhojwani) and others [2022] 3 SLR 1211
• The “Jeil Crystal” [2022] 2 SLR 1385
• Purnima Anil Salgaocar v Lakshmi Anil Salgaocar (suing as the administratrix of the estate of Anil Vassudeva Salgaocar, deceased) [2023] SGHC(A) 21
• Abcom Pte Ltd v TransAsia Private Capital Limited & Anr [2023] SGHC 242
• Ramesh Vangal v Indian Overseas Bank [2023] SGHC(A) 25
• The “Jeil Crystal” [2024] SGHC 74
• Lim Chun Yong (Lin Junxiong) v Jeffrey Yap & 5 Ors [2024] SGHC 150

Memberships/Appointments:

• Member, Law Society of Singapore
• Member, Singapore Academy of Law

Speaking Engagements/Articles written:

• 2003 – Presented a paper on Maritime Arbitration at a seminar organized by the Regional Centre for Arbitration, Kuala Lumpur.

Year called to Bar, University:

• Bachelor of Laws (LLB, Hons), University of Singapore, Singapore – 1988
• Admitted as an Advocate and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Singapore, 1989
• Admitted as an Advocate and Solicitor in the High Court of Malaya – 2001.

Languages spoken other than English:

• Mandarin
• Malay
• Cantonese
• Hakka