Your rights were crossed, and the law calls it a tort
If you are searching for a tort claim lawyer in Singapore, someone has done something to you or your property that the law treats as a legal wrong. A neighbour whose noise will not stop. Someone who has your goods and will not return them. A business competitor who has crossed a line. A stranger who walked onto your land.
I’m Roy. I handle tort claims at A.W. Law LLC in Chinatown. “Tort” is just a fancy legal word for a civil wrong that is not a crime and not a breach of contract. Singapore law gives you real remedies: money damages, an injunction to stop the conduct, and sometimes an order to return property.
The first 10 minutes are free, and nothing commits you.
What tort law in Singapore actually is
A tort is a civil wrong that gives the injured person the right to sue for compensation or an injunction. It is different from a crime (prosecuted by the state) and different from a breach of contract (a broken agreement). Most tort law in Singapore is common law, developed over decades of court decisions, supplemented by statutes like the Civil Law Act.
The main categories of tort we handle:
- Negligence. Careless conduct that causes injury, property damage, or financial loss. The biggest category by volume. See our negligence claims page.
- Trespass to land. Entering someone’s property without permission. Actionable without proof of damage.
- Trespass to person. Battery (unwanted physical contact), assault (threat of contact), false imprisonment.
- Trespass to goods and conversion. Wrongful taking or dealing with another person’s property as if it were your own.
- Nuisance. Unreasonable interference with your enjoyment of your land: noise, smell, smoke, flooding, overhanging branches.
- Defamation. Publishing false statements that damage someone’s reputation. We handle this as a specialism on our defamation cases page.
- Economic torts. Inducing breach of contract, unlawful interference with trade, and conspiracy. Used in competitive business disputes.
Venue depends on the remedy and amount:
- State Courts (Magistrate’s and District Court): for claims up to S$250,000.
- High Court: for claims over S$250,000, and for urgent injunctions.
When a tort claim makes sense, and when it does not
Not every bad experience is a tort. Before I take on a matter, I ask four questions.
- Does the conduct fit a recognised tort? Annoying neighbour who plays loud music: yes, possibly nuisance. Neighbour who is rude to you in the lift: no. The conduct has to match one of the recognised tort categories.
- Can you prove it? Photos, videos, written records, witnesses. Without hard evidence, tort claims (especially ongoing conduct like nuisance) are hard to run.
- Is a legal remedy actually what you want? Sometimes the right answer is a polite conversation, a mediation, or a complaint to the town council. We say so upfront when it is.
- Is the deadline open? 6 years for most torts. 3 years for personal injury. 1 year for defamation. Miss it and the court will not hear you.
The three patterns we see most often:
- Private nuisance from a neighbour. Noise, smoke, leaking water, overhanging trees. Usually a letter of claim plus negotiation, sometimes an injunction application. 3 to 9 months.
- Conversion of goods. Business partner keeping stock, a former employee refusing to return company equipment, a contractor holding materials. Often resolved by letter of claim and court order for return. 3 to 6 months.
- Economic tort. A competitor poaching your staff with inducement to break contracts, or interfering with your supplier relationships. These are fact-heavy and usually settled after discovery of documents. 12 to 24 months.
What to expect, honestly
How long it takes.
Most tort matters resolve within 6 to 18 months. A simple nuisance claim with a cooperative defendant can settle in 3 to 6 months. A contested trial at the State Courts runs 12 to 18 months. An urgent injunction application to the High Court can be heard in days to weeks, but the main case continues after.
How much it costs.
Realistic Singapore fees for a standard tort matter:
- Letter of claim and early negotiation: S$1,500 to S$4,000.
- Filed civil suit, uncontested or early settlement: S$4,000 to S$10,000.
- Urgent injunction application: S$5,000 to S$15,000 on top of the main case.
- Contested trial: S$10,000 to S$40,000 or more.
We quote a written fee cap before any paid work starts, and we work on flat fees per stage where the work allows. The 10-min Discovery Session is always free. For smaller claims where legal costs risk outweighing recovery, we say so upfront and often recommend a letter-only approach.
What is the hard part.
Two things. One, evidence gathering. Ongoing nuisance needs contemporaneous proof (a noise log, dated videos, witness accounts). The more you build before lodging the claim, the stronger your position. Two, the defendant who refuses to engage. Some tort cases need a court order to move them, and an injunction application is a serious step we only take when the evidence is ready.
How we handle tort claims at A.W. Law
A few things we do differently:
- Clear read on which tort applies. At the first meeting, we tell you exactly which tort fits your facts and which ones do not, with reasons.
- One lawyer from start to finish. Roy handles your file end to end, including any injunction application.
- Flat fees where possible. Letters, pleadings, and routine court applications are priced at fixed rates. Trial work is capped in writing.
- Honest cost vs. outcome read. If the likely damages will not exceed the legal costs, we say so upfront.
- Letters in simple terms. Every document we send on your behalf is explained in simple terms first.
- WhatsApp until 10pm on weekdays. For ongoing nuisance especially, we know you need fast answers.
- English, Malay, or Tamil. Whichever you are comfortable in.
We are at 133 New Bridge Road, #20-03 Chinatown Point. Two minutes from Chinatown MRT, Exit E.
What happens next
If your rights have been crossed, the next step is simple. Book a free 10-min Tort Claim Discovery Session using the form on this page, or WhatsApp us using the button anywhere on the screen.
Nothing commits you. By the end of the session, you will know which tort fits, whether an injunction or damages is the right first move, and what the next 30 days look like.
