On Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Law K Shanmugam’s invitation to the US to participate in an audit of the investigation on the death of American research Dr Shane Todd, SMU Associate Professor of Law and NMP Eugene Tan said: “I see such an audit as having an assurance factor, particularly if it is led by the US-side and/or is independently conducted.” “While the US expects an investigation to be led by the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security, Singapore will insist on its sovereignty in the case,” Associate Prof Tan added. But Associate Prof Tan is of the opinion that both countries have an interest in maintaining good relations, and that “without suggesting that the larger interests will overwhelm the specific concerns of the case, both countries are not going to let this matter undermine the depth of the bilateral US-Singapore relationship.”