Environment
7 firms to be on panel assessing 10 S'pore-based companies served legal notices regarding haze
Panel.
Photos by Mothership.
The Ministry of Law (MinLaw) and the National Environment Agency (NEA) have announced the appointments to the Panel of Assessors.
The panel will carry out assessments on the 10 Singapore-based companies served legal notices regarding the haze.
The seven firms on the panel are investigations firms Control Risks Group (S) Pte Ltd., FTI Consulting (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., Kroll Singapore Pte. Ltd., as well as law firms or legal advisors Dentons Rodyk & Davidson LLP, Toby Landau KC of Duxton Hill Chambers, TSMP Law Corporation and WongPartnership LLP.
According to the release, they bring expertise in forensic investigations, financial analysis, corporate intelligence, risk advisory, and legal services.
As mentioned in an earlier announcement, the government has appointed Davinder Singh Chambers (DSC LLC) as advisor.
DSC LLC will also coordinate the work done by the panel firms to ensure that their evaluation reports effectively address the issues and contain the information and evidence needed by the NEA for its assessment.
Companies identified by the government have been asked to engage a team selected by NEA, comprising an investigations firm and a law firm or legal advisor from the panel.
NEA will ask the assessors to evaluate the companies’ operations, corporate relationships and supply chains.
Companies are expected to cooperate fully.
The assessment will be conducted at the companies’ own expenses.
The assessors will submit an evaluation report to NEA, which will take the findings into account in determining whether further action is warranted.
The government intends to table amendments to the Transboundary Haze Pollution Act 2014 at the next parliamentary sitting to give legal force to this framework.
On Oct. 28, Senior Minister and Coordinating Minister for National Security and Minister for Home Affairs K Shanmugam, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Energy, Trade and Industry Gan Kim Yong, and Minister for Sustainability and the Environment and Minister-in-charge of Trade Relations Grace Fu met with senior leaders of the 10 companies.
SM Shanmugam, who is also Chairman of the Homefront Crisis Ministerial Committee, outlined how the companies would be assessed.
Assessment process
Each company is expected to engage a team of assessors from the panel, comprising an investigations firm and a law firm that advises the investigations firm.
Companies are expected to give assessors full access to information, documents, premises and people on their operations, corporate relationships, and supply chains.
They will also have to bear the costs of engaging these firms.
Assessors may engage third parties, such as remote sensing and geospatial analysts who study satellite hotspot data.
Assessors will submit a report to NEA through law firm DSC LLC, the government’s appointed adviser, which coordinates the panel’s work.
NEA will consider the report when assessing further steps.
Background
On Oct. 23, NEA announced that it had served legal notices under the Transboundary Haze Pollution Act (THPA) to the 10 firms.
The 10 firms are:
- Asia Pulp & Paper Company Limited
- Asia Pulp & Paper Company (China) Limited
- Bumitama Agri Ltd
- Golden Agri International Pte Ltd
- First Resources Ltd
- Indofood Agri Resources Ltd
- Kencana Agri Ltd
- TSH Global Plantation Pte Ltd
- TSH Oversea Pte Ltd
- Wilmar International Ltd
All the firms were represented at Wednesday's meeting.
