Professional Experience

Sylvie Tan is an Associate in the Litigation Department. Her areas of practice include civil and commercial litigation, as well as matrimonial disputes. She has also assisted in various criminal matters.

Sylvie has handled a variety of matters including, but not limited to contractual disputes, breach of trust, corporate insolvency, MCST disputes, defamation, divorce and annulment, and children’s issues involving access and maintenance applications. She also has experience in handling non-contentious work such as wills and probate, Mental Capacity Act applications, and has assisted clients in navigating the mediation process.

Education

After graduating from the International Baccalaureate Program at Collѐge du Léman in Geneva, Switzerland, Sylvie proceeded to study at King’s College London. She graduated in July 2014 with Upper Second Class Honours with a Bachelor of Laws in Law with Transnational Legal Studies degree.

Sylvie was called to the Singapore Bar in August 2016.

Notable Cases

Sylvie has been involved in several reported cases, including:

UTL v UTM [2019] SGHCF 10:

Successfully procured close to S$4.2 million worth of matrimonial assets (involving both local and overseas immovable properties) for Wife pursuant to divorce ancillary division of assets. Close of S$6,500 was ordered payable by Husband to Wife as monthly children maintenance for the 2 teenage children.

Ong Beng Chong v Commissioner of Stamp Duties [2019] SGHC 91:

Successfully appealed against the Commissioner of Stamp Duties’ decision to impose stamp duties and penalties close to S$60,000 on various instruments. It was argued and held that the instruments were drafted as payment for delivery of vacant possession of the properties in question, and that such compensation in satisfaction of equity did not fall within the meaning of a “conveyance on sale” under Section 2 of the Stamp Duties Act, and thus were not chargeable with stamp duty.

UIX v UIY [2018] SGFC 9:

Orders were made directing a Father to make payment of children’s maintenance arrears in this reported decision. The Father’s employment had been terminated for an extended period of time and he could not afford to continue making payment of the children’s maintenance at the original sum ordered. On appeal to the High Court (Family Division), the aforesaid orders were successfully set aside and the Father was no longer required to pay any arrears whatsoever.

Devagi d/o Narayanan (alias Devaki Nair) and another v Wong Poh Choy Tommy (alias Wong Pau Chou) and others [2017]:

Successfully procured: (1) an injunctive order to restrain defendants from misusing the funds of an unincorporated association for paying legal fees for defamation proceedings, (2) a declaration that the use of the association’s funds for the defamation proceedings is wrongful and in breach of the association’s constitution, (3) an order for the defendants to account for the misused funds, and (4) an order that the defendants were personally, jointly and severally to refund the association with the monies accounted for. The defendants’ appeal against the aforesaid decision was dismissed by the Court of Appeal under CA/CA 75/2017 (unreported). Over S$450,000 was returned by the defendants to the association’s fund.

References

December 2020,

Dear Ms Teh and Sylvie,

A heartfelt thank you for all that you have done for me. I am very grateful to you and your law firm’s help. You have been a beacon of light that guided me out of the darkness and empowered me with strength and hope. Thank you so much for your help despite your busy schedule for prioritizing my case and putting your utmost effort into the submissions. Words cannot sufficiently express the gratitude I feel and my heart will never stop appreciating your generosity. I have made payment for the interim bill as indicated and attached is the document that shows the transfer of funds.

Hope you have a merry Christmas and a happy new year.

With warmest regards,

<name redacted>

Other Notable Cases

Some other notable cases Sylvie has handled or has been involved in are:

• Representing home-owners in an MCST dispute that had been brought before the Strata Titles Board tribunal;
• Defamation proceedings involving 12 plaintiffs and 23 defendants;
• Assisting in settling an Adjudication Application under SOPA between a contractor and a home-owner;
• Assisting in Public Prosecutor v Chua Cheng Hong [2018] SGDC 158 where the accused was charged under Section 353 PC and originally sentenced to 3 weeks’ imprisonment, but on appeal, the length of sentence was substantially reduced to 7 day’s imprisonment;
• Successfully settling a dispute over the sale of a defective vehicle;
• Successfully settling a dispute involving over US$60,000 of unpaid employment arrears;
• Assisting in and settling a personal accident matter involving over 5 injured individuals wherein 1 succumbed to their injuries;
• Assisting in and settling a dispute between a company and an ex-employee on a non-compete clause.