Jonathan MUK is an Associate Director of the Firm. He was a recipient of the prestigious Lee Kong Chian Scholarship and graduated from the Singapore Management University Yong Pung How School of Law in 2013 with a Bachelor of Laws (Summa cum Laude) and a Bachelor of Business Management (Finance) (Summa cum Laude) through a double degree programme. Jonathan was called to the Singapore Bar in 2016 after serving as a Deputy Public Prosecutor with the Attorney General’s Chambers and as a Justices Law Clerk with the Supreme Court of Singapore serving judges of the High Court and Court of Appeal.
Jonathan’s expertise lies in high-value commercial litigation, arbitration, and mediation, specifically in the fields of banking, real estate, oil and gas, financial technology, and private equity. He specialises in cases involving fraud, investigations, and uncovering of fraudulent conduct and also has experience working on commodity and shipping disputes. Over the years, Jonathan has successfully represented multinational companies, major oil trading companies, technology unicorns, insurers, and listed companies. Jonathan has also successfully represented clients in applying for and obtaining Anton Pillar orders (also known as search orders) against wrongdoers who have misappropriated confidential information.
Given the international nature of Jonathan’s practice, he has experience working with senior local and international practitioners from the People’s Republic of China, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, the United States of America, the United Kingdom, the British Virgin Islands, and the Cayman Islands on both contentious and non-contentious matters. He has been commended by clients for being “very attentive to the case and very prompt in providing detailed feedback, as well as clear and strategic advice on the way forward”, providing a “Quick turnaround, easily available to speak to, and [giving] good practical advice”, and being “very hands on the case and [knowing] it top to bottom”.
Jonathan is a big believer in mediation as a method to resolve disputes. He mediates at the Singapore International Mediation Centre, the Singapore Mediation Centre, and under the Law Society Mediation Scheme. He is also a mediator and neutral evaluator with the Financial Industry Disputes Resolution Centre. In these capacities, Jonathan has been commended for managing expectations and emotions well and has received positive feedback for his “good control of the proceedings”, ability to build “good rapport with the parties”, and “helping explore and develop options” for the parties to resolve their dispute amicably.
Jonathan is passionate about nurturing young lawyers. He contributes to the Law Society as a member of the Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee and the Mentorship Scheme Working Group. He has also served as an adjunct faculty and as a member of the Practice Advisory Committee at the Singapore Management University’s Yong Pung How School of Law. Jonathan’s commitment to education is further demonstrated through his contributions to leading textbooks and journal publications.
Beyond his professional commitments, Jonathan actively serves with ReadAble Ltd, a charity he co-founded which is dedicated to enhancing literacy and numeracy proficiency among children and families.
Case Highlights
Complex commercial disputes
- Successfully represented and advised a law firm in an appeal such that the law firm was free to act for a second client against the same defendants when a previous suit against the defendants had settled on terms which were confidential (LVM Law Chambers LLC v Wan Hoe Keet and another and another matter [2020] 1 SLR 1083).
- Successfully represented and advised an individual in resisting an appeal concerning the recission of a share transaction worth USD 30 million (Liberty Sky Investments Ltd v Aesthetic Medical Partners Pte Ltd and other appeals and another matter [2020] 1 SLR 606). The matter involved issues of fraudulent misrepresentation, breach of contract, and bars to rescission of contract.
- Successfully represented a couple in the Singapore High Court on their claim against a rogue financial adviser for breach of fiduciary duties and fraud (Sabyasachi Mukherjee v Pradeepto Kumar Biswas [2018] SGHC 271) and getting the appeal struck out on the basis that the appellant repeatedly failed to file the necessary documents for bringing the appeal (Pradeepto Kumar Biswas v Sabyasachi Mukherjee and another [2019] SGCA 79).
- Successfully represented an individual who invested SGD 6 million into a Ponzi scheme known as “SureWin4U” in her claim against her uplines who fraudulently induced her to invest in the said scheme (Chan Pik Sun v Wan Hoe Keet (alias Wen Haojie) and others and another appeal [2024] 1 SLR 893).
- Successfully acted as lead counsel and obtained judgment for a client for an unpaid loan in the High Court.
- Representing a pair of high-net-worth siblings against their elder sibling in mental capacity proceedings concerning their aged parent.
- Representing a medical practitioner in a complex corporate matter involving minority oppression and breach of directors’ duties.
- Successfully represented 4 companies in obtaining a moratorium under Section 211B of the Companies Act and preparing the proposed scheme of arrangement to the creditors.
- Represented 4 high net-worth individuals from an Indonesian family in an inheritance dispute concerning the division of a family-owned conglomerate. The dispute was worth more than USD 200 million and eventually successfully settled after mediation at the Singapore International Mediation Centre.
- Represented a high net worth individual in a preliminary determination involving questions of law relating to res judicata and the extended doctrine of abuse of process (BLL v BLM and another [2019] SGHC 208).
- Successfully assisted Malaysian lawyers and a high net-worth individual in a defamation appeal to the Malaysian Court of Appeal by providing a Singapore law perspective on the law of defamation.
- Represented individuals in resisting claims in the Singapore High Court for breach of a franchise agreement and conspiracy. The matter was eventually settled.
- Represented an individual against a well-known foreign bank and its financial advisers for misrepresentation and fraud.
Investigations and fraud disputes
- Representing a multi-national consultancy company against 3 ex-employees and obtained a search order against 2 of the ex-employees in a matter concerning breach of confidentiality, fiduciary duties, and contract.
- Representing family members against another family member claiming for monies which were misappropriated from their family-controlled palm oil company.
- Successfully represented a technology unicorn against an ex-employee and obtained a search order against the ex-employee in a matter concerning breach of confidentiality.
- Represented a multi-national technology company in conducting internal investigations.
- Successfully represented a multi-national technology company in resisting claims brought by third parties in the Singapore High Court which were based on the fraudulent acts of an ex-employee.
- Represented a victim of a Ponzi scheme known as SureWin4U against her uplines in a claim worth about SGD 6 million in the Singapore High Court (Chan Pik Sun v Wan Hoe Keet and others [2023] SGHC 96).
- Representing 3 companies in resisting a conspiracy claim brought by a plaintiff and successfully discharged 3 freezing orders issued against the companies (Sang Cheol Woo v Charles Choi Spackman and others [2021] SGHC 42).
- Representing an employee against a leading cryptocurrency exchange in a contractual dispute.
International trade and shipping disputes
- Successfully represented a leading Singapore shipyard to arrest a vessel for unpaid dues under the Rules of Court 2021.
- Representing a major state-owned entity in 5 interpleader proceedings related to one of the largest corporate fraud in Singapore’s history. The claims are for ownership of oil cargo laden on board 4 vessels and stored in an oil terminal, and the total value of the cargo is over USD 250 million.
- Represented a sand and rocks trading company against its buyer for breach of a sand supply contract worth half a million US dollars.
- Represented a major state-owned entity in a Singapore International Arbitration Centre arbitration against one of the largest independent oil storage terminals in the Asia-Pacific. The claim is worth about USD 40 million.
Construction and property disputes
- Successfully acted as co-counsel for 3 individuals against their siblings in a claim for beneficial ownership over shares in a family-owned construction company before the High Court and on appeal (Ho Soo Tong and others v Ho Soo Fong and others [2023] SGHC 90).
- Successfully represented a Malaysian listed construction company against an individual to recognise and enforce a Malaysian arbitral award worth RM10 million. Subsequently, a bankruptcy order was obtained against the said individual.
- Acted as lead counsel for a management corporation against an individual in an evidential hearing before the Strata Titles Board.
- Advised a leading Hong Kong property development company on its contractual rights against its joint venture partner under a joint venture agreement.
- Acted as counsel for a leading property developer in Singapore in a Singapore International Commercial Court dispute involving breach of contract and conspiracy.
Tax disputes
- Represented a fishing company against the Comptroller of Income Tax in a matter involving the interpretation of Section 13A of the Income Tax Act 1947 (GCN v Comptroller of Income Tax [2020] SGITBR 2)
Private client disputes
- Successfully represented a high net-worth expatriate mother in an acrimonious divorce in an application for her to relocate back to her home country with her 2-year-old son.
- Successfully obtained a conditional warning for an individual charged under Section 322 of the Penal Code (Cap 224, 2008 Rev Ed) for voluntarily causing grievous hurt after extensive engagement with the Prosecution.
Appointments
- Member, Law Society of Singapore
- Member, Law Society Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee
- Member, Law Society Mentorship Working Group
- Member, Singapore Academy of Law
- Neutral Evaluator and Mediator, Financial Industry Disputes Resolution Centre Ltd
- Mediator, Singapore International Mediation Centre
- Mediator, Singapore Mediation Centre
- Mediator, Law Society Mediation Scheme
Education
- Bachelor of Laws, Singapore Management University (Summa cum Laude) (Highest honours)
- Bachelor of Business Management (Finance), Singapore Management University (Summa cum Laude) (Highest honours)
- Accredited Specialist Mediator, Singapore International Mediation Centre
- Accredited Associate Mediator, Singapore Mediation Centre
Publications
- Joseph Lee, Jonathan Muk, Qabir Singh, “Order 21: Costs” in Singapore Civil Procedure 2024 vol 1 (Cavinder Bull SC, gen ed) (Sweet & Maxwell, 2024)
- Joseph Lee, Jonathan Muk, Qabir Singh, “Order 21: Costs” in Singapore Civil Procedure 2022 vol 1 (Cavinder Bull SC, gen ed) (Sweet & Maxwell, 2022)
- Randolph Khoo Boo Teck and Jonathan Muk Chen Yeen, “Trusts and Divorce” in Law and Practice of Family Law in Singapore (Foo Siew Fong gen ed) (Sweet & Maxwell, 2ndEd, 2022)
- Jonathan Muk Chen Yeen, “Here We Go Again: Acting Against the Same Defendants Twice? – LVM Law Chambers LLC v Wan Hoe Keet [2020] 1 SLR 1083” [2020] SAL Prac 13
- Chen Siyuan and Muk Chen Yeen Jonathan, Family Law (2019) 16 SAL Ann Rev 2019
- Jonathan Muk Chen Yeen, “Less Payne In The International Relocation of Children: BNS v BNT [2015] 3 SLR 973” (2016) 28 SAcLJ 303
- Jonathan Muk Chen Yeen and Chin Wan Yew Rachel, “Sections 299 and 300 of the Penal Code: A Revisit and Further Suggested Amendments” [2015] 33 Sing L Rev 1
- Jonathan Muk Chen Yeen, “The Sound of Silence – An Analysis of the Incorporation of Arbitration Terms after Contract Formation: R1 International Pte Ltd v Lonstroff AG [2015] 1 SLR 521” [2015] 11(1) Asian International Arbitration Journal 93
- Jonathan Muk Chen Yeen, “Proposed Improvements To The Division of Parties’ Beneficial Interests Beyond the Women’s Charter: Chan Yuen Lan v See Fong Mun [2014] 3 SLR 1048” (2015) 27 SAcLJ 245
- Jonathan Muk Chen Yeen, “Too Confident: Section 33 of the Income Tax Act and Its (Mis)Trust in Judicial Precedent” (2014) Derivatives & Financial Instruments 208
- Jonathan Muk Chen Yeen, “Al Bai Bithaman Ajil: The grant of ibra in customer default situations” [2015] 5 Malayan Law Journal 1
- For more publications, kindly contact Jonathan Muk.
Languages
- English
- Mandarin Chinese
- Cantonese
- Bahasa Melayu (basic)