Nicole Evangeline Poh 傅佳音

Associate Director

Nicole is a Singapore-qualified advocate & solicitor with more than 10 years of experience in civil and criminal litigation, transactional and advisory roles. She specialises in employment & investigations, and undertakes general solicitors’ work, with a focus on civil advisory and transactions.

Nicole read law at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) on a Public Service Commission (PSC) scholarship. She was Deputy Public Prosecutor and State Counsel for 8.5 years at the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC), Ministry of Manpower (MOM) and AGC-Legal Service Academy. She was the first Knowledge Management Advisory Specialist for the AGC Civil Division and legal departments in Ministries. From 2022-2023, she was the Deputy Director of Learning and Professional Development at the Singapore Academy of Law (SAL), the promotion and development agency for Singapore's legal industry. She oversaw the Legal Industry Framework for Training and Education, and Structured Programmes.

Nicole specialises in employment law, internal investigations, and policy, having spent many years (2015, 2017 - 2020) at the MOM. She was Senior Assistant Director (and covering Deputy Director from 2018 – 2019), supervising the in-house legal team in respect of its legal advisory and transactions work for 3 years. From 2017 – 2019, she was the legal lead on the major amendments to Singapore's main labour law, the Employment Act 1968, and its related and subsidiary legislation. She was also involved in the setting up, procedures and work of the Employment Claims Tribunals (ECT), as well as the Tripartite Alliance Limited (TAL) encompassing the Tripartite Alliance for Dispute Management (TADM) and Tripartite Alliance for Fair & Progressive Employment Practices (TAFEP). She has also advised the Minister for Manpower, the Controller of Work Passes and the Commissioner for Labour in relation to statutory appeals, and judicial review. During her time at the MOM, Nicole also prosecuted a landmark case on the illegal importation of labour.

Now in private practice, Nicole has advised and represented both individuals and companies facing investigations by TAFEP and MOM, as well as advised on employment issues. Her time in both the public sector and private sector makes her uniquely placed to advise clients.

An experienced litigator with a broad range of expertise, Nicole has appeared in the Court of Appeal, High Court, State Courts, Family Justice Courts (including Youth Court) and Appeals Board (Land Acquisition). She has advised on and appeared in cases dealing with a broad range of subjects beyond employment law – including constitutional law, contract law, criminal law, family law, torts, and land law.

Presently, she is also a Consultant to the Academy Publishing Cluster of the SAL.

Sample Cases

Employment & Investigations

• Advised a local company on salary claims made by its previous employee, at the Employment Claims Tribunal. Both parties (without legal representation) had failed at mediation at TADM but a settlement was successfully brokered for the company with its employee before the matter was heard in court.

• Represented and advised a local manufacturing and engineering company on a work injury compensation (WICA) claim filed with MOM by its foreign worker who suffered personal injuries. Brokered a settlement and successfully settled the matter.

• Advised individuals facing various charges under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act 1990.

• Conducted employment investigations and advised a listed company being investigated by TAFEP and MOM. Made representations and the result of which MOM simply required the company to attend a remedial workshop, instead of prosecution and enforcement action.

• Advised a Japanese law firm on the relevant business licenses and work passes for a large Japanese corporation/retailer. 

• Advised individuals in senior management in employment negotiations and on their exit options. 

• Advised the Government (the Minister for Manpower, the Controller of Work Passes and the Commissioner for Labour) in relation to various statutory appeals, and judicial review.

• Nicole was the legal lead on MOM’s flagship initiative to amend the Employment Act and key employment legislation from 2017-2019. The amendments were the most extensive since Singapore’s independence in 1965, affecting all local businesses, and all employees under a contract with an employer in Singapore. The amendments facilitated increased protection for employees, provided greater business flexibility, and enhanced dispute resolution procedures. Nicole was awarded the Minister for Manpower Award for Regulatory Excellence for her work.

• Advised the Government on its response to Indonesia’s imposition of a new performance bond (security deposit) on Singapore residents employing Indonesian foreign domestic workers in 2018. The performance bond was designed to provide the Indonesian embassy with leverage over employers in Singapore, in the event of a dispute between Indonesian employees and their employers. This was a major issue, affecting nearly 100,000 employers in Singapore. Nicole worked with a multi-disciplinary team from the MOM, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the AGC to formulate a comprehensive response. This required not only an understanding of the legal issues but also sensitivity to the political implications, both international and domestic, of the dispute.

• Successfully prosecuted the landmark case on illegal importation of labour under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act, PP v Lim Leong Chye [2015], involving false statements, abetment by instigation, and criminal kickbacks.

• Represented Singapore at the United Nations International Labour Organization 331st session of the Governing Body in 2017. She was the sole legal counsel for Singapore, ensuring that Singapore’s rights and interests were represented and that the Government was properly advised on and capable of fulfilling its international obligations.

• Advised MOM’s leadership and political office holders directly on key employment, human capital, and human resources (HR) issues, and helped the Ministry navigate its relationships with partners and stakeholders, such as businesses and trade unions.

Corporate, Commercial & Financial

• Advised and represented the Singapore Land Authority in the case of Warrant of Dispossession.

• Advised and represented the Collector of Land Revenue (Singapore Land Authority) before the Land Acquisition (Appeals) Board for compensation under the Land Acquisition Act 1966 for a condominium and its residents affected by the Thomson-East Coast Line MRT works.

• Advised a local food distribution company on its supply transactions with another local company and vetted its contract.

• Advised a foreign law firm with a foreign client on its business dealings.

• Advised a local business on its retail tenancy lease with a conservation property.

• Advised the Government in relation to many grants by corporations and to charities.

Disputes & International Arbitration

• Successfully defended the Government before the Court of Appeal (Singapore’s apex court) in Yan Jun v Attorney-General [2014] SGCA 20, a dispute concerning constitutional rights, false imprisonment, abuse of process, defamation, assault and battery, and excessive use of force. This case significantly advanced the law on limitation periods of civil claims and is commonly cited as an authority for defamation in tort.

Criminal Matters

• Successfully prosecuted a wide range of offences in Singapore, from sexual offences to drug offences. Notably, she prosecuted the case of Public Prosecutor v Christeen d/o Jayamany and another [2015] SGHC 126, a 10-day capital drug trafficking trial in the High Court of Singapore for two accused persons, including Datchinamurthy a/l Kataiah. This case has been commonly cited in subsequent capital drug cases.

• Successfully prosecuted the landmark case on illegal importation of labour under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act, PP v Lim Leong Chye [2015], involving a shell business, false statements, abetment by instigation, and criminal kickbacks.

Private Client

• Successfully acted for the Government in multiple contentious and non-contentious child protection proceedings, and advised on matters such as adoption, and personal protection orders.

Conveyancing & Corporate Real Estate 

• Acted in the sale and purchase of private properties

Published Judgments

• Public Prosecutor v Christeen d/o Jayamany and another [2015] SGHC 126

• Yan Jun v Attorney-General [2014] SGCA 60

Media Mentions

This was a landmark case on illegal importation of labour:

• “Nightclub boss jailed 16 months and fined $35k for employment offences”, The Straits Times (5 August 2015)

  Other reported criminal cases:

• “Man jailed for attacking wife's alleged lover with a metal rod”, The Straits Times (20 January 2016)

• “Woman jailed for attempting to kill mum”, The Straits Times (19 February 2015)

Opinions:

• “CNA Explains: Is Singapore Airlines obliged to compensate SQ321 passengers?”, The Straits Times (13 June 2024)