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4 min read AI

Singapore Court Rules on AI Hallucination: A Reality Check for Small Firms

Singapore's High Court just handed down what might be its first formal ruling on AI-generated fake cases in legal practice (2025 SGHCR 33). For resource-constrained practices, this case validates a hard truth - you might be better off avoiding AI entirely.
Singapore Court Rules on AI Hallucination: A Reality Check for Small Firms
Photo by Ben Turnbull / Unsplash

What Happened

A Singapore lawyer cited a completely fictitious case authority in written court submissions - a case that was generated by an unnamed "generative AI tool" and simply didn't exist. When opposing counsel couldn't locate the case, the lawyer initially tried to downplay the incident as merely a "clerical error" before eventually admitting the AI origin.

The High Court Registrar wasn't buying it, finding the conduct "improper, unreasonable and negligent" and ordering the lawyer to personally pay $800 in costs to the opposing party - a meaningful financial sting that sends a clear message about personal accountability for AI-generated content in Singapore's legal system.

[2025] SGHCR 33
AR Tan Yu Qing:

The link to the full judgement.

The "I Told You So" Moment (That I'm Not Taking)

As I read the judgment, the implications were clear. No, I didn't think that the lawyers "should have known better".

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Published by:

Houfu Ang

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