A BUSINESSMAN who lost his investment in a property deal has sued the lawyer involved in the deal to get back $850,000.
Mr Satinder Singh Garcha said he was talked into investing $1 million and found after a week that only $50,000 was left.
In the lawsuit, which opened in the High Court yesterday, he alleged that the lawyer in question, Mr Uthayasurian Sidambaram, was instrumental in the loss of that money.
He claimed that Mr Uthayasurian was grossly negligent and had failed to advise him of the conflicts of interest in the case.
The lawyer, who had 18 years’ experience, was suspended from practising for a year by a Court of Three Judges in May, in disciplinary proceedings over the same case.
In its written judgment, the court warned lawyers to avoid the pitfalls of situations in which they represent multiple clients in the same case.
Mr Uthayasurian had acted for multiple parties involved in a project to build on a plot of land in Tanglin Hill owned by the Brunei government.
Mr Singh not only put in the money in May 2006, but also authorised an undischarged bankrupt, Mr Louis Ang, to disburse the funds.
A week later, he found that most of the money had gone to other parts of the project and legal costs. Continue reading
