Ma HanFeng

Biography
Notable cases

Biography

Ma HanFeng is a Partner in the Firm’s Litigation & Dispute Resolution Practice.

HanFeng specialises in tax and white-collar crime. HanFeng has worked as a Legal Service Officer for more than 13 years, serving as a lawyer for the government. During his stint, he was seconded to the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS), where he not only prosecuted tax offenders but also represented the IRAS in civil tax litigation cases before tax tribunals such as the GST Board of Review and the Income Tax Board of Review. He successfully represented the IRAS in a complex civil tax litigation case involving Missing Trader Fraud as lead counsel, which marked the first successful case outcome for the IRAS in Missing Trader Fraud cases.

Prior to joining the firm, HanFeng practised with a boutique law firm specialising in tax law, where he would advise clients on a wide variety of tax issues (both domestic and international), such as the tax implications arising from cross-border corporate restructuring and the application/interpretation of international tax treaties. In addition to this, he has also acted for clients (both corporate and individual) in tax dispute matters, including cross-border transfer pricing tax disputes and regulatory audits/investigations by tax authorities.

HanFeng is a member of Singapore Chartered Tax Professionals (SCTP), where he is an Accredited Tax Practitioner (Income Tax & GST).

HanFeng’s experience in white-collar crime includes his previous stint as a Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) at the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) where he handled a broad range of criminal cases, including those involving corruption and complex fraud-related matters such as embezzlement, money laundering, and other financial crimes. This experience gives him a unique perspective and enables him to anticipate the prosecution’s strategies and arguments.

HanFeng is also a Certified Information Privacy Professional for both Asia and Europe (CIPP/A and CIPP/E) with the international Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP).

Notable cases

Tax

Represented the IRAS in a civil tax litigation case involving the taxability of gains arising from the disposal of a business park commercial development.

Represented the IRAS in a civil tax litigation case involving the taxability of gains connected to the sale of a prominent office tower in Singapore’s prime business district.

Represented the Singapore subsidiary of a global biotechnology company in its cross-border transfer pricing dispute with the IRAS.

Represented a client in his dispute with the IRAS concerning the Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty (ABSD) applicable to his purchase of a high-end residential property under a “99-to-1” property deal.

Assisted a client (which is one of the largest Korean banks) in its dispute with the Cambodian tax authorities concerning the interpretation of the Singapore – Cambodia Double-Taxation Treaty.

Advised a beauty products multinational corporation on the tax implications of its regional restructuring plan.

Advised a mobile game development company on the tax implications of transferring its business from New Zealand to Singapore.

Crime

Successfully secured a conviction for a corruption trial as sole counsel even though almost all the prosecution witnesses had turned hostile on the witness stand. This decision is reported in PP v. Ng Hong Khiang [2014] SGDC 33.

Assisted in successfully defending the Prosecution’s position before the Singapore Court of Appeal in a case involving one of Singapore’s largest Ponzi schemes (the “Sunshine Empire” case). This decision is reported in Phang Wah v. PP [2012] SGCA 60.

Assisted in the extradition of a casino swindler who had been apprehended in Germany and thereafter prosecuted the offender in PP v. Reynald Georges Victor Lasnel [2012] SGDC 406.

Successfully secured convictions, as lead counsel, for three High Court cases involving drug importation (all three convictions were successfully upheld on appeal before the Court of Appeal).

Partner