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Catherine Tay Swee Kian
Contact Details
tel: (65) 64695704 (D) or (65) 68999888
mobile tel: (65) 96951656
e-mail: catherinetay@nus.edu.sg or cathtay@gmail.com
Catherine Tay Swee Kian is an Advocate and Solicitor of the
Supreme Court of Singapore. A/Prof Tay is also a barrister-at-law (of
Lincoln’s Inn, United Kingdom). She is an Associate Professorial Fellow
lecturing law at the National University of Singapore (NUS), Department of
Strategy and Policy, NUS Business School. A/Prof Tay is also an Associate
Director of the law firm of Bernard & Rada Law Corp.
A/Prof Tay studied law at Queen Mary College, University of London
and graduated with a Bachelor of Laws with Honours in 1977 and with a
Master of Laws in 1979, in which she specialised in Company, Shipping,
Insurance and Marine Insurance Laws. She was called to the English Bar by
Lincoln’s Inn in 1978. She did her pupillage under the Honourable Lady
Mary Hogg in London and returned to Singapore in the law firm of Rodyk &
Davidson. A/Prof Tay won the Aw Boon Haw and Aw Boon Par Memorial
Prize for the overall best student in 1980 during her postgraduate practical
law course in Singapore. She was called to the Singapore Bar in 1980.
A/Prof Tay is a member of the National Healthcare Group Institutional
Review Board (IRB) of Domain Specific Review Board tasked to review the
scientific and ethical aspects of research protocols since 2002. She is also a
member of the Centralised Institutional Review Board (IRB), Singapore
Health Services Pte Ltd tasked to review clinical protocols for human
subject experimentation. She was a member of SingHealth Polyclinics IRB
since 2003. A/Prof Tay was also a member of the Research & Ethics
Committee of Alexandra Hospital. She was also the medical-legal adviser
of the Institute of Mental Health / Woodbridge Hospital. A/Prof Tay was a
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member of the panel for lay persons for the National Transplant Ethics
Committee, Ministry of Health.
A/Prof is the Honourable Legal Advisor for Singapore Optometric
Association, as well as for the Singapore Institute of Engineering
Technologists. She is an adjunct lecturer at Institute of System Science,
NUS in IT outsourcing contracts. She lectures also at the NUS Extension in
professional and management law courses. A/Prof Tay currently supervises
medical students in electives on “Medical legal & ethical issues and the
Setting up of clinical practice” for 3rd and 4th year medical students at the
NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine. She lectures the Medical law &
Ethics module course for University of Manchester at Singapore
Polytechnic. A/Prof Tay also lectures at the Alice School of Nursing in
NUS. She also lectures nursing students in nursing law and ethics at the
Nanyang Polytechnic. She has lectured medical law and biomedical ethics
in the NUS Faculty of Dentistry for more than 10 years. A/Prof Tay was the
external examiner on medical law ethics at the Hong Kong University, Law
Faculty. She is an examiner on law subjects for a number of professional
bodies and universities in Singapore and overseas.
A/Prof Tay is an author of several law books, including the latest book
which she co-authored with haematologist A/Prof (Dr.) Tien Sim Leng,
Senior Consultant from Singapore General Hospital”. Her other law books
include:
 Company Formation Practice Manual (1983, Malayan Law Journal)
 Bankruptcy - The Law & Practice (1984, Butterworths)
 Judicial Management (1987, Malayan Law Journal)
 A Law Handbook for Businessmen (1990, Print & Publish)
 Directors’ Duties & Liabilities including Insider Trading (1985,
Times Books International) ;
 Your Rights as a Consumer - A Guide to Sale of Goods, HirePurchase and Small Claims Tribunal (1986, Times Books
International)
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 Contract Law including E-Commerce Law (1987, Times Books
International)
 Hotel and Catering Law (1992, SNP Publishers Pte Ltd)
 Investing in Stocks and Shares (1993, Specialist Press)
 How to Write a Will? (2003, Big Publications Pte Ltd)
 How to Collect Your Debts? - A Guide to Bankruptcy Law (1994,
SNP Publishers Pte Ltd)
 Buying and Selling Your Property - An Essential Guide to the
Singapore Property Market (1994, Times Books International)
 Investing in HDB Property (1995, Times Books International)
 Investing in Real Estate (1996, Longman Singapore Publishers Pte
Ltd)
 Copyright and The Protection of Designs (1997, SNP Publishers Pte
Ltd)
 A Guide to Protecting Your Ideas, Inventions, Trade Marks &
Products (1997, Times Books International)
 Resolving Disputes by Arbitration (1998, Singapore University Press)
 E-Commerce Law (2000, Times Books International)
 Medical Negligence (2001, Times Books International)
 Know Your Rights – Employment Law (2002, Times Books International)
 Infectious Diseases Law & SARS (2003, Times Books International)
 Slim Chance Fat Hope (2004, World Scientific Publishing)
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* Medico-Legal Issues in Emergency Medicine & Family Practice: Case
Scenarios (McGraw-hill)
* Medico-Legal and Ethical Issues in Eye Care: Case Scenarios for
Optometrists, Opticians, Ophthalmologists (McGraw-hill)
* Medico-Legal and Ethical Issues in Cardiology and General Medicine
: Case Scenarios (McGraw-hill)
* Biomedical Ethics and Medical Law in Blood Transfusion Practice:
Case Scenarios (Armour Publishing)
In February 1984 and July 1986, A/Prof Tay made representations to the
Parliamentary Select Committee on the recent Companies (Amendment)
Bills 1984 and 1986.
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A/Prof Tay has contributed and published legal articles in established
international peer-reviewed journals, such as BIOETHICS; the Hong Kong
Journal of Emergency Medicine; the (United Kingdom) Journal of Business
Law, (UK) Business Law Review; the (United Kingdom) Company Lawyer
and the (United Kingdom) Insolvency Law & Practice, (United Kingdom)
Tolley’s Professional Negligence, (United Kingdom) Tottel’s Professional
Negligence, the Singapore Dental Journal (a journal published by Singapore
Dental Association) and the APLAR Journal of Rheumatology.
A/Prof Tay also contributes to high-quality legal publications of local
importance and relevance such as “The Malayan Law Journal”, the
“Securities Industry Review”, the “Singapore Management Review” and
“The Singapore Law Gazette”, an official publication of The Law Society of
Singapore as well as “The New Gazette” (the official publication of The
Law Society of Hong Kong). Another legal article on “Informed Consent to
Medical Treatment” is published in the Singapore Medical Association
monthly newsletter and the National Skin Centre’s monthly newsletter.
A/Prof Tay was a committee member of the editorial board of the
Singapore Accountant Journal, Journal of the Institute of Certified Public
Accountants of Singapore and the (United Kingdom) The Company Lawyer.
She was on the Board of Overseas Editors for the (United Kingdom) Journal
of Financial Crime, an official publication of the Cambridge International
Symposium on Economic Crime. She was a member of the editorial board
of the “Singapore Polytechnic Graduate Guild Journal”. She has presented
several papers at many conferences and seminars on Business Law, Medical
law, Company and Insolvency Laws both overseas and in Singapore. She
conducts in-house seminars for hospitals, banks, statutory boards, hotels,
commercial firms and companies, clubs and associations.
A/Prof Tay lectures on medical law & biomedical ethics, contract law
management and administration and service level agreements in hospitals
such as Singapore General Hospital, Tan Tock Seng Hospital, National
Heart Centre, National Skin Centre, National Health-care Group College,
Changi General Hospital, Toa Payoh Hospital, SingHealth Polyclinics in
Tampines, Bedok, and Marine Parade; Alexandra Hospital, National
University Hospital, Mount Elizabeth Hospital, Institute of Mental Health /
Woodbridge, Changi General Hospital, Khoo Teck Puat hospital including
the Department of Anatomy, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National
University of Singapore and the National Health-Care Group College. She
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has lectured in seminars and workshops in medical ethics and law in
February 2000 organised by Singapore Dental Association (SDA) Ethics
Committee where No. of CDE points accredited : 4. In March 2003, she was
an invited speaker at the “Third ASEAN Conference in Primary Health
Care” organised by the Perak Medical Practitioners Society in Ipoh,
Malaysia. She lectured on ‘The Role of Ethics Committee in Singapore’ in
the Singapore Good Clinical Practice Programme – Basic GCP (Clinical
Trials Management Course) organised by Faculty of Medicine, NUS.
A/Prof Tay was the supervisor in which her medical student won the
“Medical Student Award” winner in the Special Study Module 2001 at the
NUS Faculty of Medicine for the topic on “Genetics, Privacy and the Law’.
A scientific poster co-authored by A/Prof Tay and Assoc Prof (Dr) Giam
Yoke Chin, a National Skin Centre senior consultant dermatologist, won the
Best Poster Award in the Allied Sciences Section during the National
Healthcare Group (NHG) Annual Scientific Congress 2004 (9 – 11 October
2004). The abstract has been published in a supplement issue of Annals,
Academy of Medicine, Singapore, a peer reviewed and indexed medical
journal. This abstract was independently reviewed, graded and ranked by at
least two reviewers to ensure that the abstract was of scientific merit.
A/Prof Tay was a legal consultant appearing on many television segments
produced by the then Television Corporation of Singapore. She speaks on
legal subjects on Media Corp radio weekly. She has co-hosted a weekly talk
show “In the Eyes of the Law” on NTUC RadioHeart. A/Prof Tay was a
consultant to Media Corp television series on consumer laws “What’s Your
Case” on TV Channel 5, which was aired during prime time Friday weekly.
She was a member of the Board of Advisors of the Arena Country Club.
A/Prof Tay participates actively in several professional and charitable
organisations for which she has received several titles and awards including
the titles Miss Singapore-International Charity Queen at the beauty pageant
in 1990 and 1991 and Miss Singapore-World University Charity Queen in
1992. She was a committee member of the Advice and Referral Service in
the Singapore Council of Women’s Organisation. In 1990-2000, she was the
President of the Business and Professional Women’s Association,
Singapore. In March 1992, A/Prof Tay was a nominee for the Women of the
Year Award. In May 1994, she received the Paul Harris Fellow Award from
Rotary International in recognition of her community service.
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Selected Publications – Peer-reviewed Journal Articles
1. New Developments in Casino Gaming Business: Singapore’s
Approach to Responsible Gambling: (United Kingdom) Business
Law Review, May 2009, Vol. 30, No. 5, pages 116 – 119.
2. Recent Developments in Labour Laws in Singapore: (United
Kingdom) Business Law Review, February 2009, Vol. 30, No. 2
pages 24 -27.
3. Electronic Business Communications: New Spamming Laws for
Singapore: (United Kingdom) Business Law Review, February 2008,
Vol. 29, No. 2 pages 28 – 33.
4. Prosecution or Sustainability?: Can Singapore Businesses Ignore
their Safety Responsibilities under New Workplace Safety and
Health Laws? (United Kingdom) Business Law Review, February
2007, Vol. 28, No.2 pages 30-33.
5. New Developments in Competition Law in Singapore, (United
Kingdom) Business Law Review, May 2006, Vol. 27, No. 5
pages 120 – 125.
6. Medical Ethics of Informed Consent: A Survey of Medical
Professionals in Singapore, with Dr Giam Yoke Chin, Dr EST Tan,
Dr M Chio, Dr Goh Chee Leok and YH Chan, (United Kingdom)
Tottel’s Journal of Professional Negligence, December 2006,
Volume 22, No.4 pages 236 -250.
7. Recent Developments in Informed Consent: the Basis of Modern
Medical Ethics, APLAR Journal of Rheumatology, pages 165 – 170,
December 2005, Asia Pacific League of Associations for
Rheumatology.
8. New Developments in Duty of care: The Singapore Approach to
Negligence in Product Liability after the Slim 10 case, Business
Law Review, pages 116-124, May 2005 (United Kingdom).
9. Biomedical Technology in Progress with Responsibility,
BIOETHICS, 19,3:290-303, June 2005.
10.Professional Negligence and Medical Professional Privilege:
Impact of D v Kong Sim Guan, Tolley’s Journal of Professional
Negligence, Vol 20, No.1, 33-40, 2004 (United Kingdom).
11.Infectious Diseases Law and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome
– Medical and Legal Responses and Implications: The Singapore
Experience, APLAR Journal of Rheumatology, Vol 7, No.2, page
123-129, 2004 (Asia Pacific League of Associations for
Rheumatology) Australia.
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12.Understanding the Basic Elements of Informed Consent: A
Survey of Medical Professional, Academy of Medicine, supplement
issue of Annals, October 2004, page S93.
13.Biomedical Technology in Progress with Responsibility: An
Ethical Legal Social Review of Human Stem Cell Research,
Therapeutic and Reproductive Cloning in Singapore, Academy of
Medicine, supplement issue of Annals, October 2004, page S140.
14. Is there a doctor on-board? Medical liability during in-flight
emergencies, with Dr F Lateef and Dr N Nimbkar, Hong Kong
Journal of Emergency Medicine, July 2003, Vol 10 No. 3 (Hong
Kong).
15. Standard of Dental Care - Ambit of the Bolam Test, Singapore
Dental Journal, Vol 25, No. 1, July 2003.
16. Management of retrenchment with Responsibility: A Survey of
Attitudes and Practices in Singapore, with Eugene Tan Sern Ting,
Management Development Journal of Singapore, Vol. 11, No. 1,
59-64, 2003.
17. Interpretation of the Bolam Test in the Standard of Medical
Care: Impact of the Gunapathy Case and Beyond, Tolley’s
Journal of Profesional Negligence, 19, No.2, 2003 (United Kingdom).
18. Scripless Trading in Singapore, with Ravi Chandran, The Journal
of Business Law, 220-222, March, 1996 (United Kingdom).
19. Recent Developments – Insider Trading Laws, with Ravi
Chandran, The Company Lawyer, 16, No. 6, June 1995 (United
Kingdom).
20. Disqualification of Directors’ of insolvent Companies under the
new Singapore Law, Insolvency Law & Practice, 4, No. 2, 45-46,
1988 (United Kingdom).
21. Judicial Management Procedure in Singapore company Law,
The Journal of Business Law, 188-194, 1988 (United Kingdom).
22. Recent Developments in Insider Trading Laws in Singapore, The
Journal of Business Law, 504-508, 1986 (united Kingdom).
23. Recent Developments in Bankruptcy and Creditors’ Rights in
Singapore, Insolvency Law & Practice, 2, No. 4, 105-109, 1986
(United Kingdom).
24. Recent Developments in Insider Trading Regulation, The
Company Lawyer, 7, No. 6, 262-266, 1986 (United Kingdom).
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Membership and Professional Activities
- Advocate & Solicitor, Supreme Court of Singapore.
- Member, Law Society of Singapore.
- Barrister-at-Law, The Honourable Society of Lincoln’s Inn, United
Kingdom.
- Medical Legal Advisor, Institute of Mental Health /Woodbridge
Hospital.
- Member, Asean Law Association.
- Member, Medico-Legal Society of Singapore.
- Member, National Healthcare Group Domain-Specific review Board
(Ethics Committee / Institutional Review Board) reviewing scientific
and ethical aspects of clinical research protocols.
- Member, Research & Ethics Committee of Alexandra Hospital
- Member, SingHealth Polyclinics Institutional Review Board / Ethics
Committee (since 2003).
- Member, Singapore Hypertension Society.
- Member, Singapore Academy of Law.
- Honorary Legal Adviser of the Singapore Institute of Engineering
Technologists.
- Honorary Legal Adviser of Singapore Optometric Association.
Consultation and Executive Experience
- Consultancy work on in-house seminars for banks, statutory boards,
hotels, companies and clubs
- Examiner on law subjects for a number of professional bodies in
Singapore and overseas
- Legal consultant for television segments for Television Corporation of
Singapore and MediaCorp Radio & TV
- Legal consultant to ABN Bank, Singapore 1987
- Legal consultant to Institute of System Science, NUS in information
technology contracts
- Part-time lecturer, NUS Faculty of Dentistry in medical ethics (since
1999)
- Lecturer, NUS Faculty of Dentistry for Graduate Programme
Management in Law in the Practice of Dentistry & Ethics
- Supervisor in electives on medical law ethics in Special Study Module
at NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine (first year medical students
from 2000 to 2004)
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- Supervisor in Business Law, NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine
3rd & 4th year medical students) Feb 2008 - 2013
- Chief Editor, Management Development Journal of Singapore, 20022013
- Program Director and Program Instructor, Singapore-Commonwealth
Advanced Seminar for Chief Executives, 2004 - 2007
- Member of Advisory Committee on Exhibitions of Singapore Science
Centre
- External Examiner at The University of Hong Kong for the LLB
“LLAW3040 Medico-Legal Issues” examination (3 academic years
from 2007-2008 to 2009-2010.
Selected Invited Conference Speaker
- Invited conference speaker on ‘ethical issues on embryonic human
stem cell research and therapeutic cloning’ at life science
conference organised by Indian Medical Council of Research in
Mumbai, India, September 2006
- Invited speaker to medical doctors on ‘medical ethics’ at the
University Sains Malaysia, Kota Bahru, Malaysia, May 2006
- Gave lectures to medical doctors on “medical law” at the UKM
hospital in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, December 2007.
- Invited conference speaker on ‘Corporate Social Responsibility” at
Companies Secretaries Forum 2006, organised by Asia Business
Forum at Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel, Singapore, 20-21 July
2006
- Invited speaker on ‘Role of Ethics Committee / Institutional Review
Board and Informed Consent including Key Legal Issues in Clinical
Trials and Collaborations” at the Singapore Good Clinical Practice
Programme, Basic GCP Course organised by Yong Loo Lin School of
Medicine, National University of Singapore
- Invited speaker on “Employment Relations and Labour Law” at Ong
Teng Cheong Institute of Labour Studies
- Invited speaker on ‘Pharmaceutical Injury Law and Product Liability
Laws’ at the Singapore Good Clinical Practice Programme, Advanced
GCP (Pharmacovigilance) Course organised by Yong Loo Lin School
of Medicine, National University of Singapore , 28 July 2006
- Invited speaker on “Workplace, Safety and Health Laws” at Singapore
Manufacturers’ Federation (SMA) conference on ‘A local & Global
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Perspective on Workplace Safety & Health – Prosecution or
Sustainability’, 12 July 2006, Meritus Mandarin Hotel, Singapore
Invited Speaker on “Business Ethics and Corporate Social
Responsibility” at The Asia Business Forum conference on
‘Performance Management & Measurement Excellence for
Government 2007, 8-9 February 2007, Marina Mandarin Hotel,
Singapore.
Invited Speaker, at national conference at 6th GCP Annual Update:
“Thailand Towards Center of Clinical Trials: Assuring Success in an
Increasingly Competitive R & D Environment”, organised by the
Pharmaceutical Research & Manufacturers Association, Thai Food
and Drug Administration, and The Medical Council of Thailand.
10-11 August 2006, Miracle Grand Convention Hotel, Bangkok
Invited Speaker, at Life Science conference on “Biomedical Ethics in
Embryonic Stem Cell Research and therapeutic Cloning” organised by
Kunming Medical College and Department of Anatomy of NUS
Faculty of Medicine. Kunming, China 2 – 4 December 2004.
Invited Speaker, at Sanofi-Aventis medical conference supported by
Malaysia Academy of Medicine on “Updates on Medical Negligence”
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 24 August 2007.
Invited Speaker, on “Intellectual Property Rights” at Biotechnology
Conference organised by Malaysian Biotechnology Corporation, 10 11 September 2007, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Invited Speaker, at a conference on “Legal Issues in Clinical Trials
and Product Liability of Dangerous Medicines” organised by
Pharmaceutical Research & Manufacturers Association (PREMA) in
Bangkok, Thailand 29 – 30 November 2006.
Invited Speaker, Scientific Symposium on Emergency Medicine
Innovations and Technologies in Emergency Medicine, Hong Kong
organised by Hong Kong Academy of Medicine. 17-18 October 2007.
Invited Speaker, at Medico-legal Seminar in Ipoh, Malaysia organised
by Malaysian Medical Association. 1st - 2nd March 2008.
Invited conference speaker on ‘Product Liability Laws in Best
Practices & Tools in Managing Food Safety Conference’ organised by
Asia Business Forum, 21-22 April 2009 at Istana Hotel, Kuala
Lumpur Malaysia.
Invited conference speaker on “Ethical and Medico-legal Issues
surrounding Willing-a-Body Donation” in the Proceedings of the
International Anatomical Sciences and Cell Biology Conference
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organised by Department of Anatomy, National University of
Singapore and Singapore Neuroscience Association. 26-29 May 2010.
Invited Speaker on “Chest Pain Evaluation in Emergency Room” in
the Medico-Legal Track Session, International Conference for
Emergency Medicine (ICEM) 2010, Suntec Convention Centre,
Singapore, 9 – 12 June 2010.
Invited Speaker on “Medico-Legal Issues” in pre-conference
workshop and main conference on 7th ASEAN Conference on Primary
Health Care organised by the Perak Medical Practitioners’ Society,
Ipoh, Malaysia, 24-27 March 2011.
Invited Speaker on “How to Obtain a Valid Informed Consent for
Blood Transfusion” at 19th SGH Blood Transfusion Seminar on “New
Challenges in Transfusion” at Singapore General Hospital Deck on 9,
Block 6, level 9.
Invited Speaker on “ Ethical and Medico-legal Issues in Laboratory
Medicine: in 3rd International Scientific Seminar on ‘A New Phase &
A New Face in Clinical Diagnosis’ organised by Sysmex, Grand
Copthorne Waterfront Hotel, Singapore 18 & 19 August 2011.
Invited Speaker on “Informed Consent for Ophthalmologists”
organised by College of Ophthalmologists, Academy of Medicine at
Mount Elizabeth Medical Centre, 29 February 2012.
Invited Speaker at Malaysian Society of Ophthalmology 3rd Annual
Scientific Meeting 2012, in Medico legal symposium: Professional
risks and challenges in Ophthalmology, and lecture topic on “What
constitutes Negligence?” at Sunway Medical Centre, 24th March 2012.