Daniel Seng Hock Chye v Denso International Asia Pte Ltd

[2026] SGHCR 14 High Court Registrar 11 May 2026 • HC/OC 1062/2025 ( HC/SUM 701/2026 ) • 27 min read
20 cases cited (14 SG, 6 foreign)

Catchwords

Employment Law — Termination Civil Procedure — Striking out

Practice Areas

Employment Law Civil Procedure

Judges (1)

Ramu Miyapan Delivered

Counsel (4)

Fernandez LLC Firm Focus Law Asia LLC Firm Christine Chiam Counsel Defendant Mohamed Arshad bin Tahir Counsel Plaintiff

Parties (2)

Denso International Asia Pte Ltd Defendant Daniel Seng Hock Chye Plaintiff

Case Significance

Daniel Seng Hock Chye v Denso International Asia Pte Ltd [2026] SGHCR 14, decided by AR Ramu Miyapan on 11 May 2026, concerned a striking-out application by Denso International Asia Pte Ltd against a wrongful dismissal claim brought by its former employee of approximately 19 years, 4 months, and 7 days. Daniel Seng Hock Chye's employment was terminated on 1 October 2024 with payment of salary in lieu of notice, and he alleged the termination was a disguised retrenchment carried out in bad faith to deny him retrenchment benefits, seeking damages including for psychiatric harm, distress, humiliation, and loss of reputation. The Registrar considered whether the statement of claim disclosed a reasonable cause of action under O 9 r 16(1)(a) and (c) of the Rules of Court 2021.

Summary

Daniel Seng Hock Chye, a former employee of Denso International Asia Pte Ltd, sued for wrongful dismissal after approximately 19 years of service, alleging his October 2024 termination was a disguised retrenchment to deprive him of retrenchment benefits, and claiming damages for psychiatric harm, distress, humiliation, and loss of reputation. The court struck out the entire statement of claim under O 9 rr 16(1)(a) and (c) of the Rules of Court 2021, finding no legally recognised cause of action had been pleaded — there was no contractual or statutory basis for the wrongful dismissal or retrenchment claims, and damages for distress and humiliation are not recoverable under the Addis principle in Singapore.

What was the basis of the striking-out application in Daniel Seng Hock Chye v Denso International Asia Pte Ltd [2026] SGHCR 14?

Denso International Asia Pte Ltd applied to strike out the wrongful dismissal claim on the ground that it disclosed no reasonable cause of action. Daniel Seng Hock Chye, employed from around May 2005 until his termination on 1 October 2024, alleged his dismissal was a bad-faith disguised retrenchment to deprive him of retrenchment benefits.

Statutes Cited

Employment Act (Cap 91)
s 14(2) s 84(1)(b)
Employment Claims Act
s 13

Cases Cited (20)

SG (5)
[2023] SGHC 154 [2023] SGHC 260 [2024] SGHC 38 [2024] SGMC 68 [2026] SGHC 15
SLR (9)
[1991] 1 SLR(R) 844 [1997] 3 SLR(R) 649 [2000] 1 SLR(R) 436 [2000] 1 SLR(R) 53 [2000] 1 SLR(R) 670 [2012] 4 SLR 546 [2022] 1 SLR 1318 [2023] 3 SLR 361 [2023] 4 SLR 1133
UK (6)
[1897] 2 QB 57 [1909] AC 488 [1941] 2 KB 72 [1970] 1 All ER 1094 [1998] AC 20 [2014] EWCA Civ 1512

Judgment

Read the full judgment on the official Singapore Courts portal.

Read on eLitigation

Source: eLitigation ([2026] SGHCR 14)