Corporate Investigation Standards in Singapore

Corporate Investigation

Standards and safeguards when conducting corporate investigations into employees

In the recent case of Dong Wei v Shell Eastern Trading (Pte) Ltd & Another [2022] SGHC(A) 8, the Singapore High Court (Appellate Division) took the opportunity to consider the applicable standards and procedural safeguards to be adopted when conducting corporate investigations into employees. Here, we explore some of the key observations made by the Court in the context of corporate investigations and consider their impact on the conduct of internal investigations into employees.

This case arose out of an investigation that the first respondent, Shell Eastern Trading (Pte) Ltd (“Shell Eastern”), had undertaken into the appellant, Dong Wei, about allegations of conflict of interest and breaches of the company’s code of conduct. Though the investigation was ultimately inconclusive, Shell Eastern later terminated Dong Wei’s employment with pay in place of notice under the express terms of his employment agreement.

After that, S&P Global Platts (“Platts”) approached Shell Eastern with inquiries about its ongoing investigations and subsequently published an article relating to the same. This article allegedly hampered Dong Wei’s attempts at securing comparable employment, and he commenced proceedings seeking damages he claimed to have suffered. read more

Source: Weiyi Tan | Clyde & Co