ACRES wins appeal

Mustafa Shafawi Channel NewsAsia 24 Jan 11;

SINGAPORE: Animal welfare group, ACRES, (Animal Concerns, Research & Education Society) has won its appeal against the Clerk-of-Works who oversaw the construction of its Wildlife Rescue Centre (AWRC).

The AWRC had to be demolished due to environmental pollution caused by the use of unsuitable backfill materials.

In its judgement, delivered on January 20, the Court of Appeal concluded that Mr. Tan Boon Kwee was in breach of his duty of care to ACRES.

This negligence caused ACRES to suffer economic losses.

Justice Andrew Phang stated that ACRES has had to suffer the unnecessary stress and inconvenience of having to deal with a number of government agencies regarding the environmental damage from the contaminated back as well as delay the opening of the shelter and the commencement of the good work the shelter was intended for.

Justice Phang said while these may not be legally recoverable losses, it was a testament to the fortitude and determination of ACRES staff that they were not deterred by the numerous setbacks.

ACRES had sued the main contractor, ANA Contractor, and Mr Tan back in September 2008.

In March 2010, while Justice Kan Ting Chiu found the contractor liable and ordered them to pay damages, he dismissed the claim against Mr Tan. ACRES then appealed against the dismissal.

ACRES Director, Louis Ng, expressed delight at the verdict and said justice had been served. He added that ACRES will proceed to assess damages against both ANA and Mr. Tan.

The National Environment Agency has also filed criminal charges against both ANA and Mr Tan.

The NEA trial is scheduled for February.

Acres wins case against clerk of works
K.C. Vijayan Straits Times 25 Jan 11;

THE Court of Appeal has held a clerk of works to be negligent and liable for the losses caused to an animal rights group.

Mr Tan Boon Kwee was the site supervisor and a director of A n A Contractors, which was hired to build a home for abandoned animals in Choa Chu Kang.

The appeals court, presided by Judge of Appeal Chao Hick Tin, in a judgment released last Thursday, overruled a lower court and held that the mess would have been avoided if Mr Tan had supervised the work properly.

The position of clerk of works, now known as resident technical officer or site supervisor, is provided for in the Building Control Regulations.

The saga began in September 2006, when Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (Acres) hired A n A to level a plot of land about the size of two football fields to build an animal shelter for $650,000. It was to have housed 400 animals like star tortoises and primates, rescued from the illegal wildlife trade or found injured, before they would be released here or overseas.

The contractor filled the land with woodchips that rotted and contaminated the soil and discharged brackish water. The 1.5ha area of 62 animal enclosures had to be demolished and the backfill material removed.

Acres sued A n A in the High Court, which last year ordered the company to pay damages, but held that Mr Tan was not liable.

Acres, through lawyers from Straits Law Practice, appealed and argued that Mr Tan owed a common law duty of care to supervise the backfilling and ensure suitable material was used.

But the contractor's lawyers from Lee & Lee countered that the Building Control Act did not impose such a duty on Mr Tan.

Judge of Appeal Andrew Phang noted there was nothing during the debate before the Act was passed to show Parliament intended that there should be no civil redress against negligent site supervisors.

'In the field of public and workplace safety, there is no reason why the courts should not be astute to introduce minimum standards of skill and care via the tort of negligence,' he wrote.

Both A n A and Mr Tan will have to pay damages to be assessed by the court registrar.

Acres executive director and founder Louis Ng said he hoped the problems can be rectified, and looked forward to opening the main sanctuary area.