CHIA KOK KEE v TAN WAH

Case Significance

Chia Kok Kee v Tan Wah [2024] SGHC 216 was decided by Chua Lee Ming J in the General Division of the High Court on 20 August 2024, in Originating Summons (Bankruptcy) No 108 of 2023 (Registrar's Appeal No 33 of 2024), with hearings on 18 March and 3 July 2024. The dispute between the claimant, Mr Chia Kok Kee, and the defendant, Mdm Tan Wah, arose from a co-investment in the People's Republic of China in 1995, which led to various Singapore court proceedings and several costs orders against Chia that were not paid. Tan issued a statutory demand against Chia for payment of the outstanding costs.

Chia applied to set aside the statutory demand, primarily on the ground that he had a cross demand against Tan exceeding the amount of the debts specified in the demand. The Assistant Registrar dismissed Chia's application, and Chua Lee Ming J heard and dismissed the appeal against that decision; Chia then appealed against the judge's decision. The judgment set out the background to the 1995 joint venture in a hydroelectric power plant in the PRC, held through a PRC-incorporated company, Sichuan New Dujiang Electrical Power Co Ltd, and a Singapore-incorporated investment company, HX Investment Pte Ltd, in which Chia's mother Mdm So Lai Har held 40% and Tan held 60% of the share capital. Chia was represented by Carson Law Chambers, with counsel including Lim Tean, while Tan was represented by Yuen Law LLC, with counsel including Jolene Song Zhu Yi and Lim Yun Heng.