Kang Zhen Leong

On the court record

Kang Zhen Leong's reported practice is in company and commercial litigation in the High Court and the Court of Appeal, and it shows a working command of both procedural applications and shareholder disputes. Across the matters he acts for plaintiffs, respondents and appellants.

One matter illustrates the procedural side. Acting for plaintiffs in a High Court suit involving MMAG Holdings Berhad, he was engaged on an application to give evidence by way of remote communication technology, drawing on section 15A of the Courts of Judicature Act 1964, which empowers the courts to conduct proceedings by live video link or other electronic means, together with Order 33A of the Rules of Court 2012 and the relevant Practice Directions. The question was whether such an application should be made by letter or by a formal notice of application — the kind of practice point that decides how a modern trial is run.

A prominent strand is minority oppression. He appeared in the Court of Appeal in the related appeals concerning CJ Polymers Sdn Bhd, acting as respondent's and appellant's counsel across the appeals, on whether removing a member from management with shares locked in was oppressive, whether a pending misconduct suit barred the oppression action, whether a share sale to a new investor ended a quasi-partnership, and whether a valuation expert should be cross-examined on the buyout order.

He has also acted in contract enforcement. Appearing for a respondent in an originating summons involving Low Chee Group Sdn Bhd, the matter concerned a letter of undertaking and an argument of inadequate consideration; the court held the defendants bound by the four corners of the contract and estopped from disputing their obligations, and allowed the originating summons. The practice is company, contract and civil-procedure litigation, ranging from shareholder remedies to the mechanics of how evidence is taken and how contracts are enforced.