Davinder Singh

Education

Singh was educated in Saint Michael's School, Saint Joseph's Institution, National Junior College and the National University of Singapore (NUS)'s Faculty of Law. He was part of the NUS team which won the 1982 Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition, during which he was also named the Best Oralist.

Legal career

Singh was appointed Senior Counsel (SC) in 1997. His legal career, spanning over 20 years, covered areas such as banking and corporate litigation, civil and commercial litigation, intellectual property, defamation, trust, tort and negligence.

2005 National Kidney Foundation scandal

In 2005, Singh represented Singapore Press Holdings in a lawsuit brought against them by T. T. Durai (CEO of the National Kidney Foundation (NKF)) for defamation in relation to an article written by one of their correspondents. Durai dropped the case on the second day of the trial.

2014–15 Roy Ngerng defamation case

In 2014, Singh and three other lawyers from Drew & Napier represented Lee Hsien Loong, the Prime Minister of Singapore, in a defamation lawsuit against blogger Roy Ngerng, who was represented by M. Ravi and Eugene Thuraisingam. On 7 November 2014, Justice Lee Seiu Kin found Ngerng to have defamed Lee Hsien Loong in an online article whose contents suggested that the Prime Minister was guilty of criminal misappropriation. In July 2015, during a hearing to assess the amount of damages he has to pay Lee Hsien Loong, Ngerng broke down in tears while he was being cross-examined by Singh.

Non-legal career

Apart from his legal career, Singh also served as a Member of Parliament for Bishan-Toa Payoh Group Representation Constituency from 1988 to 2006. He has also held, or currently holds, independent and/or non-executive directorial positions in various companies, including ST Engineering, Singapore Airlines and Singapore Exchange.