See Toh Siew Kee v Ho Ah Lam Ferrocement: Occupiers' Liability & Negligence
In See Toh Siew Kee v Ho Ah Lam Ferrocement (Pte) Ltd, the Singapore Court of Appeal addressed the issue of occupiers’ liability and negligence. See Toh Siew Kee sued Ho Ah Lam Ferrocement (Private) Limited, Lal Offshore Marine Pte Ltd, and Asian Lift Pte Ltd for injuries sustained at a shipyard. The court considered whether occupiers' liability should be subsumed under general negligence principles and whether the defendants owed See Toh a duty of care. The court allowed the appeal in part, finding Asian Lift liable but apportioning contributory negligence to See Toh.
1. Case Overview
1.1 Court
Court of Appeal1.2 Outcome
Appeal allowed in part.
1.3 Case Type
Civil
1.4 Judgment Type
Grounds of Decision
1.5 Jurisdiction
Singapore
1.6 Description
Singapore Court of Appeal case concerning occupiers' liability, negligence, and duty of care to trespassers. Appeal allowed in part.
1.7 Decision Date
2. Parties and Outcomes
| Party Name | Role | Type | Outcome | Outcome Type | Counsels |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lal Offshore Marine Pte Ltd | Respondent | Corporation | Appeal dismissed | Won | |
| See Toh Siew Kee | Appellant | Individual | Appeal allowed in part | Partial | |
| Ho Ah Lam Ferrocement (Pte) Ltd | Respondent | Corporation | Appeal dismissed | Won | |
| Asian Lift Pte Ltd | Respondent | Corporation | Appeal allowed in part | Lost |
3. Judges
| Judge Name | Title | Delivered Judgment |
|---|---|---|
| Chao Hick Tin | Justice of Appeal | No |
| V K Rajah | Justice of Appeal | Yes |
| Sundaresh Menon | Justice of Appeal | No |
4. Counsels
4. Facts
- See Toh was a service engineer servicing radar on Fortune II.
- Fortune II was used to tow the barge Namthong 27.
- HAL leased 9/11 TBC from JTC and sublet it to Lal Offshore.
- Asian Lift was engaged to take delivery of living quarters at 9/11 TBC.
- Asian Hercules arrived at 9/11 TBC to affix mooring wires.
- See Toh was hit by Asian Hercules’s fouled starboard mooring wire.
- See Toh entered 9/11 TBC through the Seafront Access Point.
5. Formal Citations
- See Toh Siew Kee v Ho Ah Lam Ferrocement (Pte) Ltd and others, Civil Appeal No 54 of 2012, [2013] SGCA 29
- See Toh Siew Kee v Ho Ah Lam Ferrocement (Pte) Ltd and others, , [2012] 3 SLR 227
6. Timeline
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| Cooperation Agreement between HAL and Lal Offshore signed. | |
| Suit No 474 of 2010 instituted by See Toh against HAL, Lal Offshore and Asian Lift. | |
| Decision of the High Court judge in Suit No 474 of 2010. | |
| Judgment reserved. | |
| Decision Date |
7. Legal Issues
- Duty of Care
- Outcome: The court found that Asian Lift owed See Toh a duty of care, but HAL and Lal Offshore did not.
- Category: Substantive
- Related Cases:
- [1932] AC 562
- [2007] 4 SLR(R) 100
- Occupiers' Liability
- Outcome: The court determined that occupiers' liability is a subset of general negligence.
- Category: Substantive
- Related Cases:
- (1866) LR 1 CP 274
- Contributory Negligence
- Outcome: The court found See Toh contributorily negligent and apportioned liability equally with Asian Lift.
- Category: Substantive
8. Remedies Sought
- Monetary Damages
9. Cause of Actions
- Negligence
- Occupiers' Liability
10. Practice Areas
- Personal Injury
- Commercial Litigation
11. Industries
- Shipping
- Construction
12. Cited Cases
| Case Name | Court | Affirmed | Citation | Jurisdiction | Significance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| See Toh Siew Kee v Ho Ah Lam Ferrocement (Pte) Ltd and others | High Court | Yes | [2012] 3 SLR 227 | Singapore | Decision from which this appeal arose. |
| Dunster v Abbott | Unknown | Yes | [1954] 1 WLR 58 | England and Wales | Cited regarding the static-dynamic dichotomy in occupiers' liability. |
| Riden v A C Billings & Sons Ltd | Queen's Bench | Yes | [1957] 1 QB 46 | England and Wales | Cited regarding the static-dynamic dichotomy in occupiers' liability. |
| M’Alister (or Donoghue) (Pauper) v Stevenson | House of Lords | Yes | [1932] AC 562 | United Kingdom | Landmark case establishing the 'neighbour' principle in negligence. |
| Indermaur v Dames | Court of Common Pleas | Yes | (1866) LR 1 CP 274 | England and Wales | Leading case on occupiers' liability, pre-dating Donoghue v Stevenson. |
| Latham v R Johnson & Nephew, Limited | King's Bench Division | Yes | [1913] 1 KB 398 | England and Wales | Cited regarding the duty owed to licensees. |
| Robert Addie and Sons (Collieries), Limited v Dumbreck | House of Lords | Yes | [1929] AC 358 | United Kingdom | Cited regarding the duty owed to trespassers. |
| British Railways Board v Herrington | House of Lords | Yes | [1972] AC 877 | United Kingdom | Enunciated a duty of 'ordinary humanity' towards trespassers. |
| A C Billings & Sons Ltd v Riden | House of Lords | Yes | [1958] AC 240 | United Kingdom | Discusses the rights of a licensee. |
| Velazquez, Limited v Commissioners of Inland Revenue | English Court of Appeal | Yes | [1914] 3 KB 458 | England and Wales | Stare decisis obliges judges to adjudicate with reference to decided cases. |
| Candler v Crane, Christmas & Co | Unknown | Yes | [1951] 2 KB 164 | England and Wales | Narrowly construed Donoghue to stand only as precedent that manufacturers of goods were liable for injuries caused to ultimate consumers. |
| Le Lievre and Dennes v Gould | Unknown | Yes | [1893] 1 QB 491 | England and Wales | Concerns carelessly drawn architectural certificates. |
| Slater v Clay Cross Co Ltd | Queen's Bench | Yes | [1956] 2 QB 264 | England and Wales | Discusses the duty of the occupier to take reasonable care. |
| Fairchild v Glenhaven Funeral Services Ltd and others | English Court of Appeal | Yes | [2002] 1 WLR 1052 | England and Wales | Confirmed that the language used in the 1957 English Act strongly indicated that the English Parliament intended the Act to apply only to static duties. |
| Toomey v The London, Brighton, and South Coast Railway Company | Court of Common Pleas | Yes | (1857) 3 CB (NS) 146; 140 ER 694 | England and Wales | Illustrates the role of juries in negligence cases against railway companies. |
| Australian Safeway Stores Proprietary Limited v Zaluzna | High Court of Australia | Yes | (1987) 162 CLR 479 | Australia | Key case rationalizing occupiers' liability as part of general negligence principles. |
| Revill v Newbery | Queen's Bench | Yes | [1996] QB 567 | England and Wales | Illustrates the distinction between static and dynamic duties. |
| Thompson v Woolworths (Q’land) Pty Limited | High Court of Australia | Yes | (2005) 221 CLR 234 | Australia | Discusses the rigidity of classification of entrants. |
| Gorman v Williams | New South Wales Court of Appeal | Yes | [1985] 2 NSWLR 662 | Australia | Emphasizes the importance of simplicity and clarity in the law. |
| Stacey v Anglican Churches of Canada (Diocesan Synod of Eastern Newfoundland & Labrador) | Court of Appeal | Yes | (1999) 47 CCLT (2d) 153 | Canada | Declared the rules governing occupiers’ liability to be a subset of the general law of negligence. |
| James Davis Rowland Jr v Nancy Christian | Supreme Court of California | Yes | 443 P 2d 561 (1968) | United States | Abolished the traditional tripartite distinction between trespassers, licensees and invitees. |
| John Harvey Nelson v Daryl Dean C Freeland and Belinda Brittain Freeland | North Carolina Supreme Court | Yes | 507 SE 2d 882 (1998) | United States | Abolished the invitee-licensee-trespasser trichotomy. |
| Joseph Kermarec v Compagnie Generale Transatlantique | United States Supreme Court | Yes | 358 US 625 (1959) | United States | Discusses the historical roots of the distinctions between licensee and invitee. |
| Stone v Clarence Municipality | Supreme Court of Tasmania | Yes | (1993) 79 LGERA 392 | Australia | Case involving injury to a child climbing a rock face in a disused quarry. |
| State of South Australia v Wilmot | Supreme Court of South Australia | Yes | (1993) 62 SASR 562 | Australia | Case involving injury to an inexperienced trail bike rider on Crown land. |
| Spandeck Engineering (S) Pte Ltd v Defence Science & Technology Agency | Court of Appeal | Yes | [2007] 4 SLR(R) 100 | Singapore | Authoritatively laid out the framework for the imposition of a duty of care in claims arising out of negligence. |
| Animal Concerns Research & Education Society v Tan Boon Kwee | Court of Appeal | Yes | [2011] 2 SLR 146 | Singapore | Courts may sometimes need to deploy countervailing positive policy considerations to dismiss negative policy considerations. |
| X (Minors) v Bedfordshire County Council | House of Lords | Yes | [1995] 2 AC 633 | United Kingdom | The public policy consideration which has first claim on the loyalty of the law is that wrongs should be remedied. |
| Mohd bin Sapri v Soil-Build (Pte) Ltd and another appeal | Court of Appeal | Yes | [1996] 2 SLR(R) 223 | Singapore | Discusses the relationship between occupier and invitee. |
| Goh Sin Huat Electrical Pte Ltd v Ho See Jui (trading as Xuanhua Art Gallery) and another | Court of Appeal | Yes | [2012] 3 SLR 1038 | Singapore | Appellate deference can only be given if the apportionment decision of the trial judge is supported by cogent reasons. |
| Sutherland Shire Council v Heyman and another | High Court of Australia | Yes | (1985) 60 ALR 1 | Australia | The requirement of proximity is directed to the relationship between the parties in so far as it is relevant to the allegedly negligent act or omission of the defendant and the loss or injury sustained by the plaintiff. |
13. Applicable Rules
| Rule Name |
|---|
| Rules of Court (Cap 322, R 5, 2006 Rev Ed) O 14 r 12 |
| Rules of Court (Cap 322, R 5, 2006 Rev Ed) O 18 r 19 |
14. Applicable Statutes
| Statute Name | Jurisdiction |
|---|---|
| Maritime Conventions Act 1911 s 8(1) | England and Wales |
| Application of English Law Act (Cap 7A, 1994 Rev Ed) s 5 | Singapore |
| Contributory Negligence and Personal Injuries Act (Cap 54, 2002 Rev Ed) s 3 | Singapore |
15. Key Terms and Keywords
15.1 Key Terms
- Occupiers' liability
- Negligence
- Duty of care
- Trespasser
- Mooring Operation
- Shipyard
- Contributory negligence
- Spandeck test
- Static-dynamic dichotomy
- Lawful entrant
- Residual entrant
15.2 Keywords
- Occupiers' liability
- Negligence
- Duty of care
- Trespasser
- Singapore
- Shipyard
- Personal Injury
17. Areas of Law
| Area Name | Relevance Score |
|---|---|
| Premises Liability | 95 |
| Negligence | 90 |
| Torts | 80 |
| Personal Injury | 70 |
16. Subjects
- Tort
- Negligence
- Occupiers' Liability
- Civil Law