Andrew Lee Weiming – Lawyer Profile

Civil and Commercial Disputes

• Acted for the litigation representative of a wealthy widow suffering from dementia. The widow owned an estate worth over S$40 million and was involved in a dispute with a Chinese tour guide who manipulated and exercised undue influence over the widow to procure his appointment as her donee under a Lasting Power of Attorney. The Chinese tour guide carried out acts of misappropriation of the widow’s monies and assets and procured a will bequeathing the widow’s entire estate to himself. As part of the court proceedings, a worldwide Mareva Injunction was obtained against the Chinese tour guide and his wife. Other successful court applications included applying to the Family Justice Courts to revoke the Lasting Power of Attorney and obtaining a court order under the Mental Capacity Act for a statutory will to be made on behalf of the widow. There has only been one prior reported case of a statutory will application in Singapore. Numerous other court applications were also heard before the Court of Appeal, High Court, State Courts and Family Courts. Also, successfully obtained judgment against the Chinese tour guide in the High Court civil proceedings. The case received widespread media attention.
• Acted for a metals trading company against an insurance company in a dispute relating to shipments of tin ore cargo which were the subject of theft enroute from Kigali to Penang via Dar es Salaam. The case went for trial over a period of three weeks involving witnesses from Rwanda, Malawi, Malaysia and expert witnesses from Germany, Hong Kong and Italy. At the conclusion of the trial, we were successful in obtaining judgment for the full claim. This was the first reported marine insurance decision in Singapore.
• Acted as lead counsel in a USD 3 million dispute brought by a US company against a Singapore company and its director over the provision of face masks during the COVID-pandemic. Allegations of fraud, intermingling of funds and conspiracy were brought against the director personally to pierce the corporate veil. The matter went for trial in the High Court.
• Acted for a matriarch and her three sons involved in a bitter family dispute with the patriarch and two other sons over three family-run companies in the business of the wholesale trade of agarwood, spices and essential oils valued at approximately over S$20 million. Five separate court actions were commenced amidst allegations of misappropriation of company funds, collusion, breach of directors’ duties and diversion of business opportunities. As part of the court proceedings, cross-injunctive reliefs were sought by both sides. A separate derivative action was also commenced by the minority shareholders of the family.
• Acted for a renowned luxury watch and jewellery international company and obtained judgment for the sum of S$13 million against its former Accounts Manager for misappropriation of company funds through the forgery and alteration of company cheques. As part of the proceedings, obtained a worldwide Mareva Injunction against the former Accounting Manager and her husband preventing the dissipation of assets within and outside the Singapore jurisdiction.
• Acted for the same renowned luxury watch and jewellery international company bringing an action against a Singapore bank for professional negligence for the sum of S$10 million by reason of the bank’s failure to detect the former Accounting Manager’s acts of misappropriation through the forgery and alteration of cheques.
• Acted for the same renowned luxury watch and jewellery international company bringing an action against its former auditors for professional negligence for the sum of S$13 million by reason of the former auditors’ failure to detect the former Accounting Manager’s acts of misappropriation. As part of the proceedings, obtained a pre-action discovery court order for the disclosure of the former auditors’ working papers.
• Acted in a directors’ dispute and obtained judgment for a claim against the Defendant for US$3.5 million pursuant to a promissory note under the Bills of Exchange Act.
• Acted as counsel for a global automation technology company in a directors’ dispute against former directors involving issues of conspiracy and misappropriation of trade secrets and confidential information. As part of the proceedings, obtained an Anton Piller Order for the search and seizure of the misappropriated trade secrets and confidential information against the Defendant directors.
• Acted as counsel for a Singapore company listed in the SGX mainboard dealing with the ownership and chartering of offshore vessels and rigs against a Mexican credit company involving a dispute over standby letters of credit amounting to approximately US$9 million issued pursuant to a charterparty agreement. As part of the proceedings, obtained an interlocutory injunction against the Mexican company preventing it from calling for payment under the letters of credit.
• Acted as counsel for a director and shareholder of a Singapore steel and metals company involved in a director and shareholder dispute in the Singapore High Court involving allegations of minority oppression and breach of fiduciary duties.
• Acted as counsel for a company listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange involved in a dispute with a Singapore financial institution over the publication of analyst reports containing defamatory material aimed to depress the value of the company’s shares for financial gains by reason of the short selling position held by the financial institution’s clients over the company’s shares.
• Acted for a BVI company involved in a dispute over a sale and put option agreement amounting to over S$20 million.
• Acted for a BVI company involved in a dispute over a sale and put option and obtained judgment for the same.
• Acted as counsel for a Singapore company involved in a dispute relating to claims under fifteen separate construction condominium projects amounting to approximately S$3 million relating to defective works.

Trade & Energy

• Acted for a subsidiary of a Singapore Stock Exchange listed company, involved in a dispute with a US-based company over three separate offshore oil and gas projects off the coast of Australia involving cross-claims amounting to over USD 40 million. This dispute was brought before the newly established Singapore International Commercial Court (SICC) and was one of the first three cases to be heard by the SICC. The case was fixed for a three-week trial before the Honourable Justice Sir Bernard Eder (an SICC International judge and former judge of the High Court of England and Wales). In deciding a preliminary issue, the Court provided guidance as to when a dispute under the auspices of the SICC would constitute an “offshore case” under the Singapore Rules of Court. This was of particular importance as it shed light on when parties could appoint legal counsel with no expertise in Singapore law. The Court deemed this dispute to be an offshore case and this paved the way for the US- based company to appoint United States counsel, thereby being the first SICC case in Singapore involving foreign counsel. At the conclusion of the trial, our clients obtained judgment for its full claim of USD 27 million. The case received significant media attention in the Singapore local newspapers, The Straits Times.
• Acted as counsel for the subsidiary of a company listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange involved in arbitration proceedings under the London Maritime Arbitrators Association Rules regarding a dispute over the sale of a self-elevating jacked-up barge vessel which serves as a platform for gas turbines used to generate electricity in Indonesia. Allegations of contractual breach arising from the seller’s failure to meet dry-docking requirements as well as conspiracy and collusion between the seller and third-party Indonesian vessel agents were raised in the dispute.
• Acted as counsel for a Chinese shipbuilding and ship repair company in the arrest of a bulk container vessel registered in Panama. The admiralty and arrest proceedings involved claims from numerous intervening parties including the cargo owners, bunker suppliers, mortgagee bank and crew and concluded with the judicial sale of the vessel. Also obtained judgment in a sister ship claim against the same owners.
• Acted as counsel for a Singapore shipping company in the business of providing bunker supplies involved in the arrest of a vessel registered in Indonesia to secure a claim in an admiralty action against the Indonesian vessel’s owners.
• Acted for a North American oil and gas company involved in an arbitration dispute with a Malaysian petroleum company involving the claims in respect of the performance of the exploration and drilling of oil and gas in Vietnam for a claim of approximately US$50 million.
• Acted as counsel for a Singapore company listed in the SGX mainboard dealing with the ownership and chartering of offshore vessels and rigs against a Mexican credit company involving a dispute over standby letters of credit amounting to approximately US$9 million issued pursuant to a charterparty agreement. As part of the proceedings, obtained an interlocutory injunction against the Mexican company preventing it from calling for payment under the letters of credit.
• Acted as counsel for three Indonesian shipbuilding companies in a USD 125,000,000 dispute relating to banking term loan and money market loan facilities with a financial institution.
• Acted as counsel in arbitration proceedings for a global conglomerate company involved in the trading of mineral and steel products in an international trade dispute with a Chinese trading and manufacturing company with a claim of approximately US$3 million.
• Acted as counsel for an American stainless steel and commodities trading company in an arbitration dispute with a Singapore commodities trading company involving allegations of breach of contract, conspiracy and fraud.
• Acted as counsel for a company based in the Marshall Islands to enforce a London Maritime Arbitrators Association award against an Indonesian-based company. As part of the proceedings, obtained a worldwide Mareva Injunction preventing the dissipation of assets within and outside the jurisdiction of Singapore.
• Acted as Singapore counsel for the owners of a Hong Kong registered bulk carrier vessel involved in a three-way collision with a Marshall Islands bulk carrier vessel and a vehicle carrier from Singapore.
• Acted as Singapore counsel on behalf of a Hong Kong cargo and freight forwarding company commencing admiralty actions for indemnity claims against master carriers in respect of loss cargo arising from the sinking of a Bahamian container vessel.
• Acted as counsel for a Singapore company involved in a dispute against a Timor Leste insurance company under the Marine Insurance Act relating to insurance claims for losses of over USD 1.2 million arising from acts of piracy in the waters off the coast of Tanjung Berakit, Indonesia.
• Advised a subsidiary of a leading Indian private sector shipping company in the first ever prosecution brought by the Maritime Port Authority of Singapore under the Merchant Shipping (Maritime Labour Convention) Act.
• Advised the owners of a tugboat that sunk off the coast of Pedra Branca and assisted in investigations by the Maritime Port Authority of Singapore.
• Acting for and advising a vessel owner based in the Middle East in a complex transaction involving the sale and purchase of an offshore support vessel and the structuring of investment funds relating to the transaction.
• Acting for and advising a group of family-owned shipping companies in the marine offshore industry on an aspect of the group’s business, including handling all of the group’s litigation. This includes ongoing litigation in the High Court of Singapore, as well as an ongoing SIAC arbitration dispute relating to the charter of the group’s tug and barge fleet to a Bruneian company.
• Advising the Singapore entity of a Maldivian-based leading trading company involved in the importation and distribution of fuel and coal on all aspects of its business.

Construction

• Acted for a Mexican oil and gas company which commenced arbitration proceedings under the UNICTRAL Rules against a Singapore rig-building company over a dispute involving the construction of a semi-submersible oil drilling rig for a claim of approximately US$35 million.
• Acted as lead counsel for a construction company engaged in a dispute with its sub-contractors in relation to the construction of various buildings and equipment facilities in an army camp. The dispute was referred for arbitration under the SIAC Rules.
• Acted as lead counsel for a construction company engaged in a dispute with its sub-contractors in relation to the construction of government aerospace buildings and facilities housing aeronautical equipment. The dispute was referred for arbitration under the SIAC Rules.
• Acted as lead counsel for a construction company in SIA arbitration proceedings against the owner of a luxury residential building involving allegations of collusion, defective works, unauthorized variation orders and improper certification. As part of the proceedings, an injunction was sought from the High Court against the enforcement of a performance bond.
• Acted as lead counsel in numerous construction disputes referred for adjudication under the auspices of the Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act.

Private Client Practice

• Acted as lead counsel for the grandsons and daughter of an elderly woman with an estate worth over S$15 million. Andrew’s clients were involved in a dispute with the elderly woman’s son over issues relating to the mental capacity of the elderly woman and allegations against the son of the mishandling of the elderly woman’s estate.
• Acted as lead counsel for one of the beneficiaries in a contentious probate relating to an estate worth approximately S$83 million with assets in multiple jurisdictions.
• Advised on complex wills reflecting estate, trust and succession planning involving cross- border assets.
• Advised and acted in contentious matrimonial proceedings involving assets in multiple jurisdictions and disputes in custody matters.

Criminal Litigation

• Acted as counsel for a former court-appointed liquidator charged with the misappropriation of over S$40 million. The reported judgment in respect of the successful bail application was the first ever written decision to expressly set out the requirement that the provision of bail was not to originate from the accused.