In a landmark judgment, a five-member coram of the Singapore Court of Appeal struck out a US$2.6 billion claim for trading losses brought by the liquidators of Hin Leong Trading (Pte) Ltd against its former auditor. Revisiting the foundational principles of negligence, the Court of Appeal set out a distinctly Singaporean framework for analysing negligence claims: Deloitte & Touche LLP v Hin Leong Trading (Pte) Ltd (in compulsory liquidation) [2026] SGCA 33.
The decision articulates, among other things, a six-part framework for negligence claims, reconceptualises the SAAMCo scope of duty principle as an application of contractual remoteness rather than a distinct element of negligence, and reaffirms the distinction between duty and breach. Significantly, it also delineates the limits of a statutory auditor's liability, holding that an auditor is not liable for losses incurred from its client company’s continued trading, as such losses are too remote.
Our Senior Consultant Tan Cheng Han SC, Deputy Head of Commercial & Corporate Disputes Wendy Lin, Partner Monica Chong Wan Yee, and Associates Brandon Wong and Matthew Tan Ju Wei successfully represented the auditor before the Court of Appeal.
To view our update, please click here.
If you would like information and/or assistance on the above or any other area of law, you may wish to contact the Partner at WongPartnership whom you normally work with or any of the following:
Professor TAN Cheng Han, Senior Counsel
Senior Consultant
d +65 6416 8004
e chenghan.tan@wongpartnership.com
Click here to view Cheng Han’s CV.
Wendy LIN
Head – Asset Recovery & International Enforcement
Deputy Head – Commercial & Corporate Disputes
Partner – International Arbitration
d +65 6416 8181
e wendy.lin@wongpartnership.com
Click here to view Wendy’s CV.
Monica CHONG Wan Yee
Partner – Commercial & Corporate Disputes and International Arbitration
d +65 6517 3748
e monicawy.chong@wongpartnership.com
Click here to view Monica’s CV.