Advocates & Solicitors • Notary Public • Commisioner For Oaths
 
 
   

  OFFICE

111 North Bridge Road, #24-04
Peninsula Plaza, Singapore 179098

Direct Line: (65) 6334 6884
Telephone : (65) 6334 3811
TeleFax: (65) 6334 0911


Email : enquiry@mns.com.sg

 
 
Dr. MyintSoe & Selvaraj
Ph.D. (Cambridge), M.A. (Cambridge), M.A. (Illinois), B.A. (Rangoon), Barrister-at-law

Dr Myint Soe, P.B.M. the Senior Partner, has had a long and chequered career, both as a practising lawyer; and as an educator.

Soon after his return to Burma on completion of his studies, he was appointed as part-time lecturer in Criminology in the Department of Sociology at the University of Rangoon.  Three years later, he moved on to the Law Faculty and was part-time lecturer for the B.L. (post-graduate) classes and the LLB (undergraduate) classes.

As a law-practitioner in Burma, before the Army takeover in 1962, he was appointed as a member of the Burmese delegation to the Annual Afro-Asian Law Conference; and was also selected as ad hoc Constitutional Adviser to the minority States of the Union of Burma (Shan, Karen, Kachin and Chin). 

The army rule in Burma from 1962 onwards changed his career path as a lawyer, and made him into a criminal lawyer (all businesses had been nationalized).  By the time of his departure from Burma in 1971, he was well regarded as a law teacher, and had also appeared in seven notable as well as show-case trials, and was recognized as a prominent criminal lawyer.

From 1971 to 1979, he worked as Senior Lecturer (later Associate Professor) in the Faculty of Law of the University of Singapore, teaching a variety of subjects including Contracts, Torts, Banking, Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure and Sentencing.   During that period, he authored (or co-authored) publications on Criminal Law, Banking, Insurance, and the General Principles of Singapore Law.

He was back in law practice in Singapore from 1980 as a Partner in the well-known firm of Murphy & Dunbar, and assisted in notable criminal cases such as Tarling Richard Charles v Public Prosecutor [1981 – 1982] SLR(R) 1; the longest criminal trial in Singapore, spanning about 58 days.  It was also in Murphy & Dunbar, which was then the only legal adviser in Singapore to the Medical Protection Society (MPS), that he began to take a special interest in medical law and dental law, and defended doctors and dentists in disciplinary proceedings, civil claims, criminal prosecutions and Coroners Inquiries.

On the dissolution of Murphy & Dunbar in 1995, he headed the main group of partners under the banner of MyintSoe Mohamed Yang & Selvaraj; now MyintSoe & Selvaraj.   Since then, in addition to medical and dental cases, he has also appeared in notable Banking, Insurance and Criminal law cases.  His special interest in medical and dental law has continued, and he is now recognized by doctors and dentists in Singapore and Malaysia.

As an educator, Dr Myint Soe has played a very fulfilling role.   Apart from teaching at the University of Rangoon and the University of Singapore, he became an educator in the area of Insurance Law and Banking Law to insurance and banking professionals in the evenings at the Bukit Timah campus of the University.   Thereafter, he took part in the formation of the Singapore Insurance Training Centre (SITC), the Premier Institution for Insurance Education, the brainchild of Dr Hon Sui Sen, the then Finance Minister (now the Singapore College of Insurance).  He has been the longest serving Governor of that institution (1974 – 2013); a total of about 38 years and is recognized for his lectures and talks on the various aspects of Insurance Law.  His lectures on Banking Law at the Institute of Banking and Finance (the parallel premier institution for Banking Education) commenced in 1978 and continued for 30 years.  He also wrote a now well known book to teach the course (General Principles of Singapore Law) in 1979.  It was later used by the Business Law classes and MBA courses of other Institutes and Universities, local and foreign.

He also delivered lectures on Business Law to the Marketing Institute of Singapore (MIS) and at the Singapore Institute of Management (SIM) for many years.  He was awarded the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Business by Golden Gate University (USA) in 1999 in recognition of his lectures on Business Law, while lecturing at the MBA courses of that university.

Amongst other areas, Dr Myint Soe finds defending doctors and dentists most interesting and educational.  Every new case involves its own unusual or unique facts, and it is challenging to climb a never ending learning curve. 

The reported High Court cases in which he successfully appeared for doctors and dentists include:

  1. Supuletchimi d/o Rajoogopal v. Tay Boon Keng and Ors [2002] SGHC 31;
  2. Simon Shorvon v. Singapore Medical Council [2006] 1 SLR(R) 182;
  3. Hennedige Oliver v. Singapore Dental Council [2007] 1 SLR(R) 556;
  4. Gobinathan Devathasan v. Singapore Medical Council [2010] 2 SLR 926;
  5. Low Chai Ling v. Singapore Medical Council [2013] 1 SLR 83

Lastly, Dr Myint Soe has found time to perform public service or service to segments of the public.

Firstly, Legal Education.  He served as a University Representative on the Board of Legal Education from 1972 – 1974.  He also was a co-teacher of Legal Ethics to the Post-graduate law classes, then run by the Law Faculty.  Hence, for a few years he managed the post-graduate Law classes held on the University campus as Deputy Director.  Thereafter, he continued to teach Credit and Security and Domestic Arbitration at the post-graduate classes for about 26 years, and was recognized recently for his long service to the post-graduate law students in Singapore, who had obtained their law degrees from Singapore and Universities abroad.

Apart from the lectures and talks on legal subjects over the years, the following publications were undertaken, amongst others, and was meant for the benefit of lawyers, law students, and members of the public.

1.

1974

The Penal Codes of Singapore & States of Malaya (Vol. 1. Joint author).

2.

1975 & 1977

The Insurance Law of Singapore and Malaysia (Cases, Materials and Comments)(2 editions).

3.

1975

The Banking Law of Singapore & Malaysia.

4.

1977

A Sourcebook of Banking Law in Singapore and Malaysia.

5.

1977 & 1983

Law of Banking and Negotiable Instruments in Singapore and Malaysia (2 editions).

6.

1979

Insurance Law of Malaysia.

7.

1979 to 2002

General Principles of Singapore Law (several editions).

8.

1997

The Law of Banking in Singapore and Malaysia.

9.

2000

Halsbury’s Laws of Malaysia – Vol (4) – (2000)(Insurance Section).

10.

2006 & 2010

Life Insurance Law (Published by the Singapore College of Insurance) (2 editions).

Secondly, he has assisted the Ministry of Home Affairs for many years as Member and later as Chairman of one of the Criminal Law Advisory Committees, and for which he was awarded the Public Service Medal (P.B.M.)

Thirdly, together with the late Mr Justice Karthigesu, who had a passion for Arbitration, he was one of the pioneers in propagating Arbitration Law to lawyers and the public alike in the early 1980s.  This was on behalf of the newly formed Singapore Institute of Arbitrators.   He later served the Institute as its President for several years and managed to make it grow.  As such, he was also appointed to the Ad-Hoc Committee which was set up, to explore the formation of an internationally recognized Arbitration body for Singapore; now well known as the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC). 

Fourthly, his special interest in medical and dental law also made him accept the job of an Honorary Legal Adviser to the Singapore Medical Association (SMA) for over 25 years, and was awarded a Meritorious Service Award.  Likewise, he also assisted the Singapore Dental Association (SDA) as an Honorary Legal Adviser throughout the years, whenever required.

He lives and thrives by the motto that “Age is only a Number”, and that “Old Soldiers never die.”.