King's Counsel, 6 firms selected for haze probe panel, more may be added if necessary: MinLaw, NEA - CNA

The specialist panel will probe companies that may be responsible for, or have contributed to, the fires causing haze in Singapore.

A view of the haze from Chinatown on the afternoon of Oct 23, 2026. (Photo: CNA/Ooi Boon Keong)

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Nikki Yeo & Ng Jun Sen 30 Oct 2026 09:00AM (Updated: 30 Oct 2026 10:29AM) Bookmark Bookmark Share WhatsApp Telegram Facebook Twitter Email LinkedIn Set CNA as your preferred source on Google Add CNA as a trusted source to help Google better understand and surface our content in search results. Read a summary of this article on FAST. Get bite-sized news via a newcards interface. Give it a try. Click here to return to FAST Tap here to return to FAST FAST SINGAPORE: Seven members have been selected for a specialist panel that will assess companies identified by the government for potential links to transboundary haze, the Ministry of Law (MinLaw) and National Environment Agency (NEA) said on Friday (Oct 30).

Three are investigation firms: Control Risks Group, FTI Consulting (Singapore) and Kroll Singapore.

The remaining four are law firms or legal advisers: Dentons Rodyk & Davidson LLP, Toby Landau KC of Duxton Hill Chambers, TSMP Law Corporation and WongPartnership LLP.

King’s Counsel (KC) is a title conferred on senior lawyers in the United Kingdom and some Commonwealth jurisdictions in recognition of their legal expertise and advocacy experience.

MinLaw and NEA said in a joint statement that the members bring expertise in forensic investigations, financial analysis, corporate intelligence, risk advisory and legal services.

CNA Games Guess Word Crack the word, one row at a time Buzzword Create words using the given letters Mini Sudoku Tiny puzzle, mighty brain teaser Mini Crossword Small grid, big challenge Word Search Spot as many words as you can Show More Show Less MinLaw said on Oct 23 that Davinder Singh Chambers had been appointed as the government’s adviser. It will coordinate the panel’s work to ensure its reports contain the information and evidence NEA needs for its assessment.

It added that Senior Counsel Davinder Singh has extensive experience in cross-border corporate investigations and complex legal structures.

Companies identified by the government have been asked to engage a team selected by NEA, comprising an investigation firm and a law firm or legal adviser from the panel.

The team will assess the companies’ operations, corporate relationships and supply chains.

The assessments are intended to determine whether the companies were involved in causing or condoning fires that caused or contributed to the haze.

As announced earlier this week, the government intends to table amendments to the Transboundary Haze Pollution Act at the next parliamentary sitting to give legal force to the assessment framework.

Senior Minister K Shanmugam said on Wednesday that assessors may also engage third parties or other experts, such as remote sensing and geospatial analysts, to analyse satellite hotspot data.

"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," said the two agencies.

MinLaw and NEA also said more members could be added to the panel if necessary. "Some law firms cannot be appointed to the panel because they are advising some of the companies that have been identified by the government," they said.

The move comes after senior executives of 10 companies potentially linked to haze-causing fires were summoned to a rare meeting with three ministers on Wednesday. 

Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong, Senior Minister K Shanmugam and Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu met with the companies' leaders to set out the government's expectations and plans to strengthen laws to hold those responsible for haze pollution accountable.

Also in attendance were Mr Singh and senior officials from the Attorney-General’s Chambers, NEA and MinLaw. 

All 10 companies that had received notices were represented at the meeting by executives from Bumitama Agri, First Resources, Golden Agri-Resources, Indofood Agri Resources, Kencana Agri, TSH Resources, Wilmar International and Sinar Mas Group.

Sinar Mas Group senior adviser Bernard Tan also represented Asia Pulp & Paper Company and Asia Pulp & Paper Company (China).

The companies have pledged to cooperate fully with Singapore’s investigations.

All of them had received notices under the Transboundary Haze Pollution Act, and pledged at the meeting to cooperate fully with Singapore's investigations.

Wilmar International said in an SGX filing on Thursday that it would "voluntarily engage, at its own cost", an investigation firm and a law firm from the government's panel.

The agribusiness group, which has oil palm plantations mainly in Sumatra and Kalimantan, is the first of the 10 identified companies to publicly say it would engage panel assessors.

Wilmar said it would give the assessors access to relevant information, documents, personnel and sites and was ready to begin the assessment once NEA issues its directions.