PUBLIC LIABILITY CLAIMS

PUBLIC LIABILITY CLAIMS

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(Statistics): **

9.

Mr Siew Kum Hong asked the Minister for Law in each of the past three years (a) how many public liability claims have been made against government agencies and statutory boards; and (b) of these claims (i) how many were settled and how many went to court; and (ii) how many resulted in the government agency or statutory board, or its insurer, making any payment to the claimant and, of these cases, what was the average amount paid.

Mr Shanmugam: The Attorney-General's Chambers ("AGC"), as the legal advisor to the Government, handles only the more serious claims received by government agencies when such cases are referred to AGC. In the three years from 2006 to 2008, 241 such claims were handled by AGC. Of these, 125 cases were settled out of court with payment and 81 cases with no payment. Of the 35 cases that went to court, payments were made in 28 claims, and there was no payment in seven cases.

For cases involving motor accident claims where there was no death or injury, Ministries can settle such cases on their own. For non-motor accident cases, the Ministry involved can settle claims not exceeding $750.

With regard to statutory boards, there will similarly be a range of claims, with some as low as tens of dollars.

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