WAN SERN METAL INDUSTRIES PTE LTD v HUA TIAN ENGINEERING PTE. LTD.

[2024] SGHC 112 High Court (General Division) 1 February 2024 • HC/OA 1079/2023 • 55 min read
14 cases cited Cited by 1 case

Catchwords

Arbitration — Award — Recourse against award — Setting aside

Practice Areas

Arbitration

Judges (1)

Wong Li Kok, Alex Delivered

Counsel (6)

Cairnhill Law LLC Firm Chan Neo LLP Firm Ashok Kumar Rai Counsel Applicant Daniel Tay Yi Ming Counsel Respondent Lee Yun Long Counsel Respondent Yeo Wei Ying Jolyn Counsel Applicant

Parties (2)

Hua Tian Engineering Pte Ltd Respondent Wan Sern Metal Industries Pte Ltd Applicant

Case Significance

WAN SERN METAL INDUSTRIES PTE LTD v HUA TIAN ENGINEERING PTE. LTD. [2024] SGHC 112 was an application in the General Division of the High Court (Originating Application No 1079 of 2023) decided by Wong Li Kok, Alex JC, with grounds of decision dated 2 May 2024 following hearings on 12 January and 1 February 2024. The application was brought under section 48 of the Arbitration Act 2001 (2020 Rev Ed) to set aside arbitral award No 99 of 2023 dated 31 July 2023, made in SIAC Arbitration No 166 of 2022 by a sole arbitrator. The applicant, a Singapore company, was a sub-contractor for aluminium windows, doors, glazing works and related works in a construction project known as "Defu Industrial City". Wong Li Kok, Alex JC dismissed the application, after which the applicant appealed.

Summary

This General Division of the High Court decision concerned an application by Wan Sern Metal Industries Pte Ltd under s 48 of the Arbitration Act 2001 to set aside an arbitral award made in a SIAC arbitration arising from a construction sub-contract dispute with Hua Tian Engineering Pte Ltd, its labour sub-contractor on the Defu Industrial City project. The issue was recourse against the award by way of setting aside. The court dismissed the setting-aside application in its entirety, rejected the respondent's request for indemnity costs, and ordered costs of S$15,000 to the respondent on the standard basis.

What was the outcome of Wan Sern Metal Industries v Hua Tian Engineering [2024] SGHC 112?

Wong Li Kok, Alex JC dismissed the application under section 48 of the Arbitration Act 2001 to set aside arbitral award No 99 of 2023 dated 31 July 2023, made in SIAC Arbitration No 166 of 2022; the applicant then appealed.

What project did the dispute in Wan Sern Metal Industries v Hua Tian Engineering arise from?

The dispute arose from a construction project known as "Defu Industrial City", where the applicant, a Singapore company, was a sub-contractor for aluminium windows, doors, glazing works, screens, louvres, fins, box-up, skylights, canopies and the linkway.

Statutes Cited

Arbitration Act (Cap 10) Cases on this Act →
s 48
Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act (Cap 30B) Cases on this Act →
International Arbitration Act (Cap 143A) Cases on this Act →

Cases Cited (14)

SLR (14)
[2007] 3 SLR(R) 86 [2013] 1 SLR 125 [2013] 4 SLR 972 [2014] 4 SLR 79 [2015] 3 SLR 488 [2016] 1 SLR 549 [2018] 2 SLR 1311 [2018] 4 SLR 271 [2020] 1 SLR 695 [2021] 2 SLR 235 [2022] 1 SLR 1080 [2022] 1 SLR 505 [2022] 2 SLR 1 [2022] 2 SLR 557

Cited By (1)

[2025] SGCA 5
WAN SERN METAL INDUSTRIES PTE LTD v HUA TIAN ENGINEERING PTE. LTD.

Referenced in

Statutes interpreted in this judgment

Arbitration Act Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act International Arbitration Act

Legal concepts & references

Arbitration — Award

Judgment

Read the full judgment on the official Singapore Courts portal.

Read on eLitigation

Source: eLitigation ([2024] SGHC 112)