Abstract:
In the landmark case of Malcolmson Nicholas Hugh Bertram & Anor v Naresh Kumar Mehta [[2001] 4 SLR 454] the High Court of Singapore held that the time has come for the recognition of a tort of harassment.  Interestingly, barely a month later, the English Court of Appeal in Wong v Parkside Health NHS Trust & Anor decided that prior to the enactment of the Protection from Harassment Act of 1997 in the United Kingdom, the common law had never recognised that harassment per se was actionable in tort. …  This article… seeks to discuss whether the courts in Singapore should recognise a common law tort of harassment.  Second, the authors propose to examine existing common law torts and current provisions in the Singapore legislation to ascertain whether these adequately address the concerns raised by proponents of a tort of harassment, and if not, how the perceived lacuna in the law should be addressed.