CHIANG AI LING (JIANG AILING) v TAN KIAN CHYE & Anor

[2024] SGHC 330 High Court (General Division) 30 December 2024 HC/OC 561/2023 49 min read

6 cases cited Cited by 1 case

Key facts

Court	High Court (General Division)
Decided	30 December 2024
Judge	Audrey Lim
Charges / claim	Contract, Tort
Counsel	Dentons Rodyk & Davidson LLP, Harry Elias Partnership, Legal Solutions LLC, Charmaine Elizabeth Ong Wan Qi, Cheong Yi Ern Ernest, Gina Tan, Ho Jiaxin, Kevin Kwek Yiu Wing, Suchitra Ragupathy, Tan Chau Yee, Wah Hsien-Wen Terence, Zhang Weihao

Source: [2024] SGHC 330, High Court (General Division), decided 30 December 2024 — eLitigation. Updated 3 July 2026.

Catchwords

Contract — Formation — Whether alleged agreements were sham agreements Tort — Conspiracy — Lawful and unlawful means – Whether claimant suffered loss as a result of the conspiracy

Practice Areas

Contract Tort

Judges (1)

Audrey Lim Delivered

Counsel (12)

Dentons Rodyk & Davidson LLP Firm Harry Elias Partnership Firm Legal Solutions LLC Firm Charmaine Elizabeth Ong Wan Qi Counsel Claimant Cheong Yi Ern Ernest Counsel Defendant Gina Tan Counsel Claimant Ho Jiaxin Counsel Defendant Kevin Kwek Yiu Wing Counsel Claimant Suchitra Ragupathy Counsel Defendant Tan Chau Yee Counsel Defendant Wah Hsien-Wen Terence Counsel Defendant Zhang Weihao Counsel Defendant

Parties (3)

Ang Siew Yan Defendant Chiang Ai Ling (Jiang Ailing) Claimant Tan Kian Chye Defendant

Case Significance

Chiang Ai Ling v Tan Kian Chye and another [2024] SGHC 330 is a reserved judgment of the General Division of the High Court (Originating Claim No 561 of 2023) delivered by Audrey Lim J on 30 December 2024, following hearings in October and November 2024. In HC/OC 561/2023, the plaintiff Chiang Ai Ling (Jiang Ailing) claimed the first defendant, Tan Kian Chye, had failed to pay her $13,727,640.25 as consideration for transferring her shares in RYB Engineering Pte Ltd to him, pursuant to agreements made in 2015 and 2019. Chiang and Tan were formerly married and divorced in 2007, and Tan did not contest Chiang's claim. The second defendant, Ang Siew Yan, is Tan's current wife, who commenced divorce proceedings in December 2022.

[2024] SGHC 330 explained

CHIANG AI LING (JIANG AILING) v TAN KIAN CHYE & Anor ([2024] SGHC 330) is a Singapore judgment decided by the High Court (General Division) on 30 December 2024. It is categorised under Contract and Tort. Within this corpus it has since been cited by 1 other reported Singapore judgment, a measure of how often later decisions have referred to it. This page summarises what the reported decision covers and links the primary sources — the full judgment, the statutes it cites, and the other cases it engages with — so the decision can be read in context. It is reference information, not legal advice, and it does not state the outcome or any holding beyond what the official judgment records.

What is [2024] SGHC 330 about?

CHIANG AI LING (JIANG AILING) v TAN KIAN CHYE & Anor ([2024] SGHC 330) is a High Court (General Division) decision from 2024. Its published catchwords are “Contract — Formation — Whether alleged agreements were sham agreements” and “Tort — Conspiracy — Lawful and unlawful means – Whether claimant suffered loss as a result of the conspiracy”, which indicate the subject matter the judgment addresses. The full reasoning and orders are in the judgment itself, linked below.

How influential is [2024] SGHC 330?

Within this corpus, [2024] SGHC 330 has been cited by 1 later reported Singapore judgment. That count reflects references from other decisions held in this corpus only and is a conservative lower bound on how often the case has actually been cited.

Summary

Chiang Ai Ling claimed that her former husband, Tan Kian Chye, had failed to pay her over $13m as consideration for transferring her shares in RYB Engineering Pte Ltd under agreements made in 2015 and 2019, which Tan did not contest, while Tan's current wife, Ang Siew Yan, asserted that the agreements were a sham conceived to reduce the matrimonial assets in her divorce proceedings and counterclaimed for a beneficial interest in shares. The dispute raised issues of whether the agreements were sham agreements and of conspiracy by lawful and unlawful means. The court dismissed Chiang's claim and Ang's counterclaims, finding the 2015 and 2019 agreements to be sham agreements, and granted Ang a declaration that the agreements did not bind her or affect the division of matrimonial assets in her divorce proceedings.

What was the dispute in Chiang Ai Ling v Tan Kian Chye [2024] SGHC 330?

Decided by Audrey Lim J on 30 December 2024, Chiang Ai Ling claimed $13,727,640.25 from Tan Kian Chye for transferring her RYB Engineering shares under 2015 and 2019 agreements. Tan's current wife, Ang Siew Yan, alleged those agreements were a sham to reduce matrimonial assets in her divorce proceedings.

What legal issues did the High Court consider in [2024] SGHC 330?

Audrey Lim J considered whether the alleged 2015 and 2019 agreements between Chiang Ai Ling and Tan Kian Chye were sham agreements, and a tort of conspiracy claim involving lawful and unlawful means, including whether the claimant suffered loss as a result of the alleged conspiracy.