TAN Kah Wai（陈嘉炜）is a Singapore-qualified advocate with a broad commercial litigation and arbitration practice, focusing on mental capacity, private wealth, shipping, international trade and insolvency disputes.
Recognized by Legal 500 Asia-Pacific 2026 as a Leading Associate for Dispute Resolution in Singapore, Kah Wai has acted in all levels of the Singapore courts including the Singapore International Commercial Court. Notably, the Supreme Court of Singapore appointed Kah Wai as a Young Independent Counsel (YIC) in 2025 where he was commended for his “helpful written and oral submissions” by a three-judge coram of the High Court in Naresh Kumar s/o Nagesvaran v Public Prosecutor [2025] 4 SLR 1068. He has been subsequently reappointed as a YIC in 2026.
Mental Capacity and Private Wealth Disputes
Kah Wai specialises in mental capacity and private wealth disputes, and whose expertise is consistently recognised by legal directories such as Benchmark Litigation and Legal 500. He has acted for deputies, trustees, professional wealth managers and high net-worth individuals in various contentious proceedings. He is the co-author of “Mental Capacity Act in Singapore: Law and Practice” which is the leading monograph in this field. His thought leadership is further reflected in articles cited in medico-legal journals such as the Medical Law Review. He is also a regular speaker on mental capacity law for both the Law Society of Singapore and Singapore Academy of Law. He is also a member of the Law Society of Singapore’s Probate Practice Committee since 2021.
Shipping and International Trade
Apart from his private wealth practice, Kah Wai also has an active shipping practice where he represents commodity traders and cargo insurers in court proceedings and SIAC, SCMA as well as ad hoc arbitrations. He has experience in handling complex misdelivery, non-delivery, trade finance, cargo damage and charterparty disputes. A notable highlight is his role as part of a team of instructed counsel representing a state-owned Chinese oil trader in five major interpleader actions that arose out of the USD 3.5 billion collapse of Hin Leong Trading (Pte) Ltd and culminated in a 78-day trial before the Singapore High Court in 2024-2025. He is a member of the editorial committee of the Lloyd’s Maritime and Commercial Law Quarterly’s International Maritime and Commercial Law Yearbook and co-editor of the Singapore chapter of this yearbook since its introduction in 2024. He is also a Recommended Lawyer in Legal 500 Asia-Pacific for Shipping in 2025 and 2026.
Insolvency and Commercial Disputes
Kah Wai previously practised in one of Singapore’s leading insolvency litigation practices and continues to advise clients in complex and high-value recovery actions. He is currently part of the Singapore counsel team for three BVI-incorporated entities and their liquidators in advancing claims amounting to USD 2.7 billion against Standard Chartered Bank arising out of the 1MDB scandal. His articles on cross-border insolvency appear in the Lloyd’s Maritime and Commercial Law Quarterly and the Journal of Private International Law.
Kah Wai also accepts instructions in other areas of cross-border and commercial litigation including contractual, employment, fraud investigations, intellectual property, insurance, joint venture and shareholder disputes. He has also provided expert evidence on Singapore law in litigation proceedings before the Hong Kong Court of First Instance.
Education & Languages
Kah Wai graduated with First Class Honours from the National University of Singapore and also holds a Master of Laws (International Business Law) from King’s College London. As one of the top students in his cohort at NUS, he was placed on the Overall Dean’s List and received 12 academic prizes and scholarships, including subject prizes for Company Law, Tort Law, the M Karthigesu Memorial Gold Medal and Prize for Shipping Law and the Maritime Law Association of Singapore Prize for Carriage of Goods by Sea. A recipient of the Prime Minister’s Book Prize, Kah Wai has a strong command of the Chinese language. He is also equally fluent in Cantonese. Outside of the law, he is also a published author whose Chinese short stories are featured in local and international periodicals.
Case Highlights
Private Wealth & Mental Capacity Disputes
- Acting for private clients in cross-border legal proceedings where the focus of the dispute is on a high net-worth individual’s mental capacity. The dispute has led to proceedings both in the Family Justice Courts as well as the Appellate Division of the High Court.
- Acting as Singapore counsel for a Swiss-based corporate and trustee services provider in successfully raising a jurisdictional challenge arising out of a cross-border private wealth dispute spanning various jurisdictions such as Switzerland, Uzbekistan and the Republic of Marshall Islands. The decision was recently upheld by the High Court on appeal: Welton International Enterprises and others v Averis Pte Ltd and others [2026] SGHC 34
- Acted successfully for a mentally incapacitated person’s family members in (i) urgently obtaining deputyship orders under the Mental Capacity Act 2008; and (ii) a stay of execution in respect of the Strata Title Management Corporation’s enforcement proceedings against the mentally incapacitated person for non-payment of contributions. The decision was upheld on appeal in the High Court.
- Successfully acted for a private client in resisting his sibling’s claim to enforce an alleged oral agreement over the transfer of shares in a high-value property worth SGD 9.3m. The High Court trial was publicized both in The Straits Times and Lianhe Zaobao: Tan Tien Sek v Tan Tien Sai [2023] SGHC 81.
- Acted for a beneficiary in a dispute over the appointment of executors for an estate worth more than SGD 18 million before the Singapore High Court.
Shipping and Commodities
- Acting as instructed counsel for a major state-owned oil trading company against multiple financial institutions in five complex interpleader proceedings concerning high-value gasoil cargoes aboard four vessels. The dispute arose out of the USD 3.5 billion insolvency of Hin Leong Trading (Pte) Ltd, and the proceedings involve highly complex issues in admiralty, credit and security, trade finance, personal property law, conflict of laws and commercial fraud.
- Successfully acted for a South Asian metals producer in obtaining an SIAC arbitration award for damages of about USD 5 million over a CIF sale contract for iron ore cargoes.
- Acted as instructed counsel for a Singapore-based commodities trader over a cargo claims dispute before the Singapore High Court worth more than USD 25 million.
Insolvency and Restructuring
- Acting as Singapore counsel for three BVI-incorporated entities in pursuing claims including breaches of Quincecare duty and dishonest assistance amounting to USD 2.7 billion against Standard Chartered Bank (Singapore) arising out of the 1MDB scandal. Successfully resisted a striking-out application before the Singapore High Court.
- Acted successfully for the interim judicial managers of three entities in the Envy Group of Companies in respect of their winding up applications. Subsequently acted for the Court-appointed Liquidators in prosecuting claims of up to USD 1.1 billion and various satellite proceedings. The Liquidators successfully obtained partial summary judgment and a bankruptcy order against the key director of the Envy Companies for claims more than USD 416.5 million. The Envy Group of Companies were involved in the first alleged billion-dollar fraudulent Ponzi scheme in Singapore’s history.
- Acted and advised the liquidators of a Singapore-based physical commodities trading house, including an appeal before the Singapore High Court in respect of the adjudication of proofs of debt amounting to USD 49.4 million: see Feima International (Hongkong) Limited v Kyen Resources Pte Ltd [2024] 4 SLR 101.
International Arbitration
- Acted as instructed counsel in a landmark decision by the Singapore High Court on an application to set aside an SCMA arbitration award regarding a ship recycling contract concluded on BIMCO standard terms: Swire Shipping Pte Ltd v Ace Exim Pte Ltd [2024] 5 SLR 706.
- Acting for a Singapore-based commodities trader to resist an application before the Singapore International Commercial Court to set aside an SIAC arbitral award for about USD 5 million on the grounds of public policy. The litigation also involved interlocutory proceedings that provided guidance on the operation of the SICC Rules 2021: DNO v DNP [2025] 4 SLR 362.
- Acted alongside Senior Counsel in a factually complex matter before the Singapore Court of Appeal which raised important issues on the tensions between jurisdictional and substantive challenges to arbitral awards: see COT v COU and others [2023] SGCA 31.
- Acted alongside Senior Counsel in an SIAC arbitration to resist a Russian bank’s claim against a Singaporean entity for USD 202 million under a Global Master Repurchase Agreement.
Civil Litigation
- Acted for the Independent Panel of Aljunied-Hougang Town Council in two landmark Court of Appeal decisions on novel issues of municipal councillors’ duties of care and determination of liability in the absence of pleadings: How Weng Fan v Sengkang Town Council [2023] 1 SLR 707; [2023] 2 SLR 235.
- Representing a Singapore-based distributor of branded perfumes in defending an action before the Singapore High Court for alleged contractual breaches.
- Acted for an SGX-listed entity in an unfair dismissal suit by its founder and former CEO. The suit attracted significant media attention and has been amicably settled.
Appointments
- Member, Editorial Committee, Lloyd’s Maritime and Commercial Law Quarterly’s International Maritime and Commercial Law Yearbook, 2025-
- Young Independent Counsel, Supreme Court of Singapore, 2024 and 2026
- Member, Law Society of Singapore Probate Practice Committee, 2021-
- Member, Law Society of Singapore Admissions Committee, 2026-
- Member, Law Society of Singapore
- Member, Singapore Academy of Law
- Member, YSIAC
Education
- Bachelor of Laws (First Class Honours), National University of Singapore
- Master of Laws (International Business Law), King’s College London
Selected Publications
Admiralty & Shipping
- Kah-Wai Tan, “Singapore Maritime and Commercial Law” in Lloyd’s Maritime and Commercial Law Quarterly’s International Maritime and Commercial Quarterly Yearbook 2025 (F.D. Rose gen ed.) (co-authored with Marcus Teo)
Mental Capacity
- Tan Kah Wai, “Mental Capacity Act in Singapore: Law and Practice” (Academy Publishing, 2025) (co-authored with Dr Colin Tan, Yue-En Chong and Allen Sng Kiat Peng)
- Tan Kah Wai, “A tale of two capacities: assessing the Mental Capacity Act’s relevance in proving testamentary capacity in Singapore”, (2022) 34 Singapore Academy of Law Journal 125-150
- Tan Shen Kiat and Tan Kah Wai, “The Client’s Mental Capacity to Litigate – A Few Pointers on Practice”, Singapore Law Gazette, September 2023
- Tan Kah Wai, “Doing the Right Thing – A Primer on Statutory Wills in Singapore”, Singapore Law Gazette, September 2022
- Allen Sng Kiat Peng and Tan Kah Wai, “The Deputyship Regime Under Singapore’s Mental Capacity Act” (2020) 32 Singapore Academy of Law Journal 167-206 (co-authored with Allen Sng)
Cross-Border Insolvency
- Kah-Wai Tan, “Territoriality over Universalism“, [2025] Lloyd’s Maritime and Commercial Law Quarterly, 220-225 (co-authored with Marcus Teo)
- Tan Kah Wai, “A Golden Thread on the Red Dot – Modified Universalism and the Law on Cross-Border Insolvency in Singapore” (2023) 35 Singapore Academy of Law Journal 364-394
- Kah-Wai Tan, “All that glisters is not gold? Deconstructing Rubin v Eurofinance SA and its impact on the recognition and enforcement of foreign insolvency judgments at common law” (2020) Journal of Private International Law, Vol 16(3), 465-492
Contract Law
- Tan Kah Wai, “Everything Everywhere All At Once? The “Prevention Principle” and the Implied Duty to Cooperate in Singapore” (2024) 36 Singapore Academy of Law Journal 206-220
- Kah-Wai Tan, “Dismantling the Trojan Horse in Singapore: A critical evaluation of the Implied Term of Mutual Trust and Confidence” (2020) 3 International Journal of Comparative Labour Law and Industrial Relations 36(3), 239-270
Civil Litigation
- Tan Kah Wai, “Order 29: Referrals on Issues of Law” in Singapore Civil Procedure 2025 vol 1 (Cavinder Bull SC, gen ed, Sweet & Maxwell, 2025)
- For more publications, kindly contact Tan Kah Wai
Languages
- English
- Mandarin Chinese
- Cantonese
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