Mr Tan Chee Meng SC > WongPartnership LLP > Singapore, Singapore > Lawyer Profile

WongPartnership LLP
12 MARINA BOULEVARD, LEVEL 28
MARINA BAY FINANCIAL CENTRE TOWER 3
SINGAPORE 018982
Singapore

Work Department

Corporate & Regulatory Investigations; White Collar & Enforcement; Special Situations Advisory

Position

Tan Chee Meng, Senior Counsel, is Deputy Chairman of WongPartnership.

Career

His main areas of practice are general civil litigation, construction and engineering dispute resolution, criminal law, insurance, professional indemnity and disciplinary proceedings.

Prior to reading law, Chee Meng was a civil engineer and has extensive experience as an arbitrator, a mediator as well as counsel in construction law.

Appointed Senior Counsel in 2006, he is the first Specialist Judge appointed in Singapore in 2006 for a period of two years under a scheme where senior lawyers were invited to lend their expertise to the State Courts.

Before joining private practice in 1993, Chee Meng spent six years in the Singapore Legal Service where he served as Deputy Public Prosecutor, Deputy Senior State Counsel and Deputy Director of the Commercial Affairs Department.

Work Highlights

Matters of significance in which Chee Meng has been involved in include the following:

  • Counsel for OCBC in defending a claim by Winson Oil Trading Pte Ltd under a letter of credit. This is one of a series of transactions arising from the Hin Leong fallout. The claim was dismissed on ground of fraud.
  • Counsel for Low Siang Piow in an appeal against conviction involving an allegation of molest. The conviction was overturned.
  • Counsel for Christopher de Souza in disciplinary proceedings by the Law Society of Singapore alleging professional misconduct. Charges of misconduct were dismissed by the Court of 3 Judges.
  • Co-counsel in a commercial dispute between a multi-national corporation and a major retail chain in India. The dispute involves complex issues of law and the remedies include, amongst other things, a claim for specific performance and damages for breach of contract.
  • Counsel for Danieli & C.Officine Meccaniche S.P.A., a public-listed European company with revenue above EUR2.5 billion against a subsidiary of a public-listed South East Asian steelmaker, in substantially setting aside an arbitral award rendered in an ICC arbitration involving claims in excess of £280 million.
  • Counsel in an SIAC arbitration involving a US$100m dispute between an OEM Solar PV module manufacturer in China and its Japanese buyer.

Publications & Legal Updates

  • Halsbury’s Law of Singapore – Volume 18 (2012 Reissue): Tort chapter
  • Atkin’s Court Forms – Singapore: Defamation chapter
  • Modern Advocacy: Perspectives from Singapore
  • One of the consultants for the 2006 edition of the Singapore Court Practice

Languages

English, Mandarin

Memberships

Chee Meng is a member of numerous arbitration panels in Singapore and overseas. He is the Alternate Chairperson of the Criminal Law Advisory Committee. He is also on the Panel of Presidents for Law Society’s Disciplinary Tribunal, and the Clinical Ethics Subcommittee of Thomson Medical Centre. He is an accredited Adjudicator appointed under the Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act (Cap 30B).

Chee Meng is currently a Board member of Temasek Holdings (Private) Limited. He had previously served as a Board member of Urban Redevelopment Authority, Jurong Town Corporation and Singapore Power Ltd.

Education

University of Canterbury, New Zealand, Bachelor of Engineering (Civil) (First Class Hons.), 1979; National University of Singapore, LL.B. (Hons.), (2nd Class Upper) 1986; University of Cambridge, UK, LL.M. (First Class Hons.), 1987.

Lawyer Rankings

Singapore > White-collar crime - Local firms

WongPartnership LLP’s team excels in corporate and regulatory investigations and compliance matters. As such, the practice regularly undertakes advisory work for government-led investigations, in addition to large internal investigations for private entities including banks, financial institutions and individuals. The team has a wide offering across all aspects of defence counsel and covers cases involving corporate and market misconduct and financial services regulation, as well as a range of data privacy, crypto, anti-bribery, enforcement, and anti-corruption services. The team is notably multidisciplinary and regularly undertakes multi-jurisdictional and cross-border mandates, drawing on relevant expertise though the firm’s wider network. Jenny Tsin is noted for her expertise in employee-related matters, while Joy Tan handles contentious investigations, regulatory issues and disputes. Tan Chee Meng SC, a former CAD prosecutor, is a key player in the firm’s enforcement and investigations cases, while Melanie Ho has experience in global investigations and technology offences,.

Singapore > Dispute resolution

WongPartnership LLP‘s domestic and global reputation brings it a wealth of cases, including disputes that have no direct connection to Singapore. The firm continues to expand its caseload, including additional crypto-related disputes, insolvency cases and arbitration-related court proceedings, especially challenges to arbitral awards. The Singapore team has close connections to government-linked businesses, local and international banks, and numerous multinationals. Koh Swee Yen SC wins many accolades in arbitration-related court proceedings and other headline Singapore cases, having been elevated to senior counsel status in 2022 and gaining a prolific record in major disputes. Tan Chee Meng SC is a notable figure in white-collar crime and regulatory matters. Chou Sean Yu leads the litigation and dispute resolution group, and has a fine record in banking and finance disputes. Wendy Lin is another senior figure with leading expertise in asset recovery, fraud and other headline cases, while Melanie Ho heads the professional and enterprise disputes team.