Sengkang Town Council won't drop lawsuit against Workers' Party members: SMU Law don
The Workers' Party-run Sengkang Town Council (SKTC) will not drop the lawsuit against its own party members because it owes fiduciary duties to the town council, a law lecturer has suggested.
Citing a landmark High Court ruling last year that town councillors have fiduciary duties to town councils, Singapore Management University lecturer Nicholas Liu said the "only legally safe and practical way forward" would be for SKTC to appoint an independent panel to direct the suit on its behalf.
The WP-run SKTC will take over management of a parallel lawsuit initiated by the Pasir Ris-Punggol Town Council (PRPTC), after the opposition party won Sengkang GRC at the recent general election.
The new Sengkang GRC consists of Punggol East SMC as well as parts of the former Sengkang West SMC and Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC.
PRPTC had filed the ongoing civil suit against WP chairman Sylvia Lim, former party chief Low Thia Khiang and six other defendants to recover alleged losses incurred by the former Punggol East SMC when it was in WP hands between the 2013 by-election and 2015 General Election.
Said Mr Liu: "If SKTC were to decide on its own to discontinue the suit, the Sengkang town councillors would run a serious risk of being in breach of their own fiduciary duties to SKTC, exposing themselves to potential proceedings in future. Given that the WP has controlled AHTC since the 2015 General Election (although it entrusted the conduct of the litigation to an independent panel), this awkward situation of 'ownself sue ownself' is a somewhat familiar one."
Mr Liu said that until the Court of Appeal rules on the case and provides clarity, town councillors must, out of practicality, act on the assumption that they owe fiduciary duties to their town council. To do otherwise would be a dangerous gamble, he added.
The Workers' Party-run Sengkang Town Council (SKTC) will not drop the lawsuit against its own party members because it owes fiduciary duties to the town council, a law lecturer has suggested.
Citing a landmark High Court ruling last year that town councillors have fiduciary duties to town councils, Singapore Management University lecturer Nicholas Liu said the "only legally safe and practical way forward" would be for SKTC to appoint an independent panel to direct the suit on its behalf.
The WP-run SKTC will take over management of a parallel lawsuit initiated by the Pasir Ris-Punggol Town Council (PRPTC), after the opposition party won Sengkang GRC at the recent general election.
The new Sengkang GRC consists of Punggol East SMC as well as parts of the former Sengkang West SMC and Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC.
PRPTC had filed the ongoing civil suit against WP chairman Sylvia Lim, former party chief Low Thia Khiang and six other defendants to recover alleged losses incurred by the former Punggol East SMC when it was in WP hands between the 2013 by-election and 2015 General Election.
Said Mr Liu: "If SKTC were to decide on its own to discontinue the suit, the Sengkang town councillors would run a serious risk of being in breach of their own fiduciary duties to SKTC, exposing themselves to potential proceedings in future. Given that the WP has controlled AHTC since the 2015 General Election (although it entrusted the conduct of the litigation to an independent panel), this awkward situation of 'ownself sue ownself' is a somewhat familiar one."
Mr Liu said that until the Court of Appeal rules on the case and provides clarity, town councillors must, out of practicality, act on the assumption that they owe fiduciary duties to their town council. To do otherwise would be a dangerous gamble, he added.
