Clearlab SG Pte Ltd v Ting Chong Chai and others

Lee Seiu Kin J:

[3] The plaintiff’s case against the seventh and eighth defendants was, firstly, for breach of confidence in relation to information obtained by them from the plaintiff. The plaintiff also alleged that the seventh and eighth defendants had conspired with the first defendant to steal confidential information from the plaintiff for use by the fifth defendant and a further conspiracy to sell machines to the fifth defendant that contained the plaintiff’s confidential information. These claims against the seventh and eighth defendants were so intertwined with the plaintiff’s claims against the remaining defendants that their counsel, Mr Chan and his assistant, Mr Pang, were required to be present in court for most of the trial. Indeed, they were present in court for 32 days.

[4] Counsel for the plaintiff, Mr Lok, submitted that counsel need not have attended in court for all 32 days. However I did not see how any responsible counsel could have done this given the issues in the trial and the nature of the claims against the seventh and eighth defendants. I found that the attendance of Mr Chan and Mr Pang in 32 out of the 49 days to be eminently reasonable in the circumstances.