SYED SUHAIL BIN SYED ZIN & 12 Ors v ATTORNEY GENERAL
Key facts
| Court | Court of Appeal |
|---|---|
| Decided | |
| Judges | Judith Prakash, Steven Chong, Sundaresh Menon |
| Charges / claim | Confidence, Intellectual Property |
| Counsel | Ong Ying Ping Esq, WongPartnership LLP, Andre Soh, Deya Shankar Dubey, Lee Ming Le, Leo Zhen Wei Lionel, Ong Ying Ping, Tan Chee Meng, Vishi Sundar |
Source: [2024] SGCA 39, Court of Appeal, decided — eLitigation. Updated .
Catchwords
Practice Areas
Counsel (9)
Parties (14)
Case Significance
In Syed Suhail bin Syed Zin and others v Attorney-General [2024] SGCA 39, the Court of Appeal heard Civil Appeal No 30 of 2022 brought by thirteen appellants who had at all material times been prisoners in Changi Prison after being convicted on various charges. The basic complaint was that Singapore Prison Services ("SPS") and the Attorney-General's Chambers ("AGC") had breached the appellants' right to confidentiality under civil law, and that the appellants were entitled to various remedies. In the court below, the appellants had been partially successful but appealed because they considered the relief insufficient.
The appeal was decided by Sundaresh Menon CJ, Steven Chong JCA and Judith Prakash SJ, with Judith Prakash SJ delivering the judgment of the court. It was heard across 20 January, 3 May and 2 August 2023 and 10 May 2024, with judgment reserved and delivered on 11 October 2024. Ong Ying Ping of Ong Ying Ping Esq, with Lee Ming Le, acted for the appellants, while WongPartnership LLP, including Tan Chee Meng and Leo Zhen Wei Lionel, acted for the respondent, the Attorney-General. The catchwords addressed breach of confidence, remedies in damages for breach of confidence, and copyright under the Copyright Act, alongside administrative law issues concerning prisons.
[2024] SGCA 39 explained
SYED SUHAIL BIN SYED ZIN & 12 Ors v ATTORNEY GENERAL ([2024] SGCA 39) is a Singapore judgment decided by the Court of Appeal on 11 October 2024. It is categorised under Confidence and Intellectual Property. Within this corpus it has since been cited by 2 other reported Singapore judgments, a measure of how often later decisions have referred to it. This page summarises what the reported decision covers and links the primary sources — the full judgment, the statutes it cites, and the other cases it engages with — so the decision can be read in context. It is reference information, not legal advice, and it does not state the outcome or any holding beyond what the official judgment records.
What is [2024] SGCA 39 about?
SYED SUHAIL BIN SYED ZIN & 12 Ors v ATTORNEY GENERAL ([2024] SGCA 39) is a Court of Appeal decision from 2024. Its published catchwords are “Confidence — Remedies — Damages”, “Confidence — Breach of confidence”, “Intellectual Property — Copyright”, and “Intellectual Property — Copyright — Remedies — Damages”, which indicate the subject matter the judgment addresses. The full reasoning and orders are in the judgment itself, linked below.
Which legislation does [2024] SGCA 39 consider?
The judgment refers to Copyright Act (Cap 63), Criminal Procedure Code (Cap 68), Gobi that under the prevailing Prisons Act (Cap 247), and Government Proceedings Act (Cap 121), among other provisions. The statutes cited are listed in full on this page, each linking to its primary text.
What earlier Singapore cases does [2024] SGCA 39 cite?
Among the in-corpus authorities it refers to are [2024] SGCA 37. The complete list of cases cited, and of later cases that cite this decision, is shown on this page.
How influential is [2024] SGCA 39?
Within this corpus, [2024] SGCA 39 has been cited by 2 later reported Singapore judgments. That count reflects references from other decisions held in this corpus only and is a conservative lower bound on how often the case has actually been cited.
Who were the appellants in Syed Suhail bin Syed Zin v Attorney-General [2024] SGCA 39?
The appellants were thirteen prisoners in Changi Prison, including Syed Suhail bin Syed Zin, Gobi a/l Avedian and Datchinamurthy a/l Kataiah, who had been convicted on various charges. They complained that Singapore Prison Services and the Attorney-General's Chambers had breached their right to confidentiality under civil law.
Which judges decided Syed Suhail bin Syed Zin v Attorney-General [2024] SGCA 39?
The Court of Appeal panel comprised Sundaresh Menon CJ, Steven Chong JCA and Judith Prakash SJ, with Judith Prakash SJ delivering the judgment of the court. The appeal in Civil Appeal No 30 of 2022 was decided on 11 October 2024 after hearings across 2023 and 2024.
Statutes Cited
Cases Cited (41)
Related cases
Other Singapore judgments involving the same parties or counsel.
Referenced in
Statutes interpreted in this judgment
Legal concepts & references
Judgment
Read the full judgment on the official Singapore Courts portal.
Read on eLitigationSource: eLitigation ([2024] SGCA 39)