Siraj Shaik Aziz
Counsel of Commercial Disputes & Criminal Defence
LLB – Singapore Management University
Steadfast, Dynamic, Dedicated
I graduated from SMU in 2015 and have expertise in Criminal Defence. I honed my expertise in criminal litigation as a Criminal Legal Aid Scheme (“CLAS”) Fellow. I have acted for close to 100 Clients over a range of Penal Code and non-Penal Code offences (including white collar and regulatory offences) before the State Courts and Supreme Court.
An experienced trial lawyer, I have successfully secured conditional warnings, community-based sentences, and acquittals for my clients at both pre-and post-trial stages for Penal Code and other regulatory offences. I am a member of the Law Society’s Criminal Practice Committee and Criminal Legal Aid Scheme Committee, providing aid and time to various community stakeholders.
Since joining Silvester Legal, I have also started to develop expertise in civil and commercial litigation. I have advised and acted for individuals and corporate clients as lead counsel before the State Courts and Supreme Court in contractual disputes, shareholders and directors’ disputes, intellectual property infringement and tortious claims. I am a safe pair of hands. I won my very first High Court trial for a minority oppression suit within a year of joining Silvester Legal against a much more experienced senior litigator.
Siraj Shaik Aziz
Counsel of Criminal Defence
LLB – Singapore Management University
Email: siraj@silvesterlegal.com
Steadfast, Dynamic, Dedicated
I graduated from SMU in 2015 and have expertise in Criminal Defence. I honed my expertise in criminal litigation as a Criminal Legal Aid Scheme (“CLAS”) Fellow. I have acted for close to 100 Clients over a range of Penal Code and non-Penal Code offences (including white collar and regulatory offences) before the State Courts and Supreme Court.
An experienced trial lawyer, I have successfully secured conditional warnings, community-based sentences, and acquittals for my clients at both pre-and post-trial stages for Penal Code and other regulatory offences. I am a member of the Law Society’s Criminal Practice Committee and Criminal Legal Aid Scheme Committee, providing aid and time to various community stakeholders.
Since joining Silvester Legal, I have also started to develop expertise in civil and commercial litigation. I have advised and acted for individuals and corporate clients as lead counsel before the State Courts and Supreme Court in contractual disputes, shareholders and directors’ disputes, intellectual property infringement and tortious claims. I am a safe pair of hands. I won my very first High Court trial for a minority oppression suit within a year of joining Silvester Legal against a much more experienced senior litigator.
Area of Expertise
Representative Case Experience
- Successfully defended against a minority oppression claim for a buyout before the Singapore High Court as lead counsel.
- Successfully obtained, as lead counsel, a non-custodial sentence for a co-accused person in an illegal online gambling ring that earned S$100m in revenue. Prosecution had initially communicated a Plead Guilty Offer of an 8-month imprisonment term before acceding to representations by counsel for a non-custodial sentence.
- Successfully defended against a claim in damages or statutory damages in the alternative for copyright infringement against two furniture retailers before the Singapore State Court as lead counsel acting for both defendants.
- Successfully defended against a claim as lead counsel for copyright infringement and defamation (MC/MC 13233/2020 -Maximum Wellness v Dan-Z Fitness Pte Ltd-Unreported judgement on 22 November 2021)
- Successfully obtained a community sentence with no criminal record for the regulatory offence of false declaration of employee’s salaries for which a custodial term is a judicially prescribed norm. Prosecution, who had sought 4 weeks imprisonment, did not appeal the judgment [Public Prosecutor v. Ewe Ai Zhen, Eileen (SC-907321-2020) -Unreported Judgement on 1 July 2021]
- Lead a CLAS Sub-Committee in 2021 the consultation for and drafting /submission of a Report to the Ministry of Law on expanding the number of offences covered under CLAS in Singapore.
- Instructed to act as lead counsel by I.R.B. Law LLP in a criminal negligence trial (Public Prosecutor v Zhu Xiu Chun alias Myint Myint Kyi-SC-900216-2020); acting for a medical doctor facing a charge for causing death by rash act in relation to a botched liposuction procedure. The trial is fixed in July 2022.
- Acted as lead counsel (employed by the CLAS office in a capacity akin to a Public Defender) in 2018 and 2019 representing close to 120 accused persons at the State Courts and Supreme Court for Penal Code and other regulatory offences. Successfully secured conditional warnings, community-based sentences, and acquittals for clients at both pre-and post-trial stages. Siraj’s work in this capacity was acknowledged by then Senior Minister-of-State for Law & Health, Mr. Edwin Tong, at the Law Society Pro Bono Services’ Fundraising Dinner 2019 and a Ministry of Law media statement in the same year.
Appointments & Memberships
- Member, Singapore Academy of Law
- Member, Criminal Practice Committee of the Law Society of Singapore
- Member, Criminal Legal Aid Scheme (“CLAS”) Committee of the Singapore Law Society Pro Bono Services
- Member of the Singapore Institute of Arbitrators (MSIArb)
Awards & Recognitions
- Awardee of the Lex-Falcon Award 2022 (“Under 10 years” Category) for positive impact on the legal industry.
Media & News
- Co-authored the following book chapter with a third-party funder Ingrid Coinquet & Siraj Shaik Aziz: “Third Party Funding in Asia-Perspectives on Best Practices” in The Asian Turn in Foreign Investment. (2021) M. Mohan & C. Brown (Eds.), Cambridge University Press. (Published on 4 August 2021). This work, which examines the introduction of third-party funding in Hong Kong and Singapore, was built upon Siraj’s work as:
- A research associate at Singapore Management University in 2017 where he specialised in research on international commercial and investment arbitration in Asia
- as a Legislative Assistant to Nominated Member of Parliament Assistant Professor Mahdev Mohan where he assisted in the preparation for parliamentary proceedings in relation to the Civil Law (Amendment) Bill which permitted third party funding for arbitrations in Singapore
- Authored “The Investment Protection Chapter of the EU-Singapore Free Trade Agreement: A Model for Post-Brexit UK IIAs”, Vol.10 No.1, 2017, Journal of East Asia and International Law which was selected for republication in ASEAN International Law (Springer)(2022 edition) Eric Yong Joong Lee (Ed.) (Republished on 14 October 2021)
Notable Cases & Reported Judgement
- Ng Wee Chong v HDDoor Pte Ltd and another matter [2021] SGDC 168 and District Court Registrar’s Appeals 71 and 72 of 2021 (DC/RA 72/2021 and DC/RA 72/2021)
- Public Prosecutor v: Lim Zhaoming Edwin (SC-911403-2018)
- Gui Chien Cheong Martin v Facilit8te Pte Ltd and another [2021] 4 SLR 1449
- Public Prosecutor v Zhu Xiu Chun alias Myint Myint Kyi-SC-900216-2020
- [Public Prosecutor v. Ewe Ai Zhen, Eileen (SC-907321-2020) -Unreported Judgement on 1 July 2021]
- MC/MC 13233/2020 -Maximum Wellness v Dan-Z Fitness Pte Ltd-Unreported judgement on 22 November 2021
TESTIMONIALS
20 September 2020Criminal Defence (Fraud Case)
20 September 2020 Traffic Offence
20 September 2020Criminal Defence
20 September 2020Criminal Defence (Corruption, Drug Trafficking & Other Serious Crimes)
20 September 2020Criminal Defence
July 2020Criminal Defence
June 2020Criminal Defence
September 2020Criminal Defence
September 2020Criminal Defence
September 2020Criminal Defence
September 2020Criminal Defence
September 2020Criminal Defence
September 2020Criminal Defence
January 2023Criminal Defence
January 2023Criminal Defence
January 2023Criminal Defence
January 2023Commercial Litigation
January 2023Commercial Litigation
January 2023Civil Litigation
January 2023Criminal Defence
January 2023Criminal Defence