Lam Siew Lan v Lian Tong Looi

• Court: District Court (Singapore)
• Judge: Regina Ow-Chang Yee Lin
• Judgment Date: 31 August 2000
• Neutral Citation: [2000] SGDC 33
• Citation: [2000] SGDC 33
• Published date: 19 September 2003

Judgment

GROUNDS OF DECISION Cur Adv Vult

Background

1. The petitioner ("wife") and the respondent ("husband") registered their marriage at the Singapore Marriage Registry on 2 December 1963. They had two children, a daughter, Yih Yann aged 34 and a son, Yih Hann aged 29. On 4 August 1999, the wife filed a petition for divorce on the ground that the marriage had broken down irretrievably in that the husband had behaved in such a way that the wife cannot reasonably be expected to live with him. The husband did not contest the Petition and the Decree Nisi was granted on 9 September 1999. The issues of maintenance for the wife and the division of the matrimonial assets were adjourned to be heard in chambers.

2. The ancillary matters came up for hearing before me on 11 and 31 August 2000. After reviewing the evidence in the affidavits filed by the wife and the husband, I made the following orders -

1) The Respondent do pay to the Petitioner a lump sum maintenance of $10,000.00 (calculated at $160 X 5 years);

2) The matrimonial flat at Block 50D #18-27 Marine Parade Road Singapore to be transferred to the Petitioner upon the Petitioner paying the Respondent 60% of the valuation of the flat fixed at $630,000.00. The Respondent is to refund his Central Provident Fund (CPF) account the monies utilised for the purchase of the matrimonial flat, together with the accrued interest. The transfer is to be effected within 1 month of this Order of Court. The Petitioner is to pay the costs of the transfer;

3) In the alternative, the matrimonial flat to be sold in the open market and the proceeds of sale after deducting the costs and expenses of sale to be divided in the proportion of 40% to the Petitioner and 60% to the Respondent. The Respondent is to refund his CPF account the monies utilised for the purchase of the matrimonial flat and accrued interest from his share of the proceeds of sale;

4) The Petitioner is to be given a 20% share of the following matrimonial assets:

(a) Units #01-14 and #01-25 35 Selegie Road Parklane Shopping Mall valued at $830,000.00;

(b) Mercedes Benz SBV 2333S valued at $65,000.00

(c) Chinese Swimming Club membership valued at $11,000.00;

(d) Raffles Town Club membership valued at $12,000.00;

(e) 280,000 shares in Lian & Sons Holdings Pte Ltd valued at $1,668,800.00;

(f) Huaxia Road No 36 Lane 2013 Rm 302 China valued at $24,097.00;

(g) Villa at No. 29 Lane 2901 Chuanbei Road Shanghai China Huaxia Garden valued at $93,748.00; and

(h) Shares in LTL (HK) Corp valued at $33,955.00.

The Respondent to pay the Petitioner the sum of $547,720.00 (20% of $2,738,600.00) within 3 months of this Order of Court;

5) The Joint accounts, Keppel Tat Lee Bank account number 504-41710-1 and POSB account number 081-24110-4 to be closed and the balance monies to be divided equally between the parties;

6) Each party to keep the bank accounts in their own names / joint accounts with third parties; shares in their respective Central Depository (CDP) Accounts and monies in their respective CPF accounts;

7) Respondent to pay the Petitioner costs of $1,500.00 for the Divorce Petition. Costs of the ancillaries to be agreed or taxed; and

8) Liberty to apply.

3. The wife filed an appeal against orders 2 and 4 above.

The Wife

4. The parties were married on 2 December 1973. She is 62 years old. The wife was a teacher from 1958 to 1994, when she retired from the Education Service. She receives a monthly pension of $1,378.00 per month and a sum of $263.90 per month from her insurance policy number 51041050.

5. The wife sought a 50% share in the matrimonial assets which consisted of the following :

a) The matrimonial flat at Block 50D #18-27 Marine Parade Road Singapore valued at $630,000.00;

b) Units #01-14 and #01-25 35 Selegie Road Parklane Shopping Mall valued at $830,000.00;

c) Mercedes Benz SBV 2333S valued at $65,000.00;

d) Chinese Swimming Club membership valued at $11,000.00;

e) Raffles Town Club membership valued at $12,000.00;

f) 280,000 shares in Lian & Sons Holdings Pte Ltd valued at $1,668,800.00;

g) Huaxia Road No 36 Lane 2013 Rm 302 China valued at $24,097.00;

h) Villa at No. 29 Lane 2901 Chuanbei Road Shanghai China Huaxia Garden valued at $93,748.00;

i) Shares in LTL (HK) Corp valued at $33,955.00;

j) Shares in the husband’s CDP account valued at $60,820.00; and

k) The husband’s savings account with the Communication Bank, Shanghai China account number 01 1012142 020000 15378 with a balance of $43,162.50;

l) Their joint accounts, Keppel Tat Lee Bank account number 504-41710-1 and POSB account number 081-24110-4 with balances of $7,731.52 and $11,736.17, respectively;

m) 108 Thompson Green Singapore 574372; and

n) 10H Braddell Hill #02-29 Singapore.

6. At the hearing, the wife abandoned her claim for the assets listed as 5(m) and (n) above. The wife stated that she had contributed both directly and indirectly to the above assets.

7. The wife had $24,125.00 in her POSB bank account number 074-01179-9 as at 2 June 1999. She had 3 other bank accounts, Bank of China account number 4030702-072009021 (in Shanghai, China), Bank of China account number 014-1-035359-3 and Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank account number 151-031580-060, with account balances of RMB$45,000.00 (approximately S$9,000.00), $7,919.87 and $25,155.30 respectively.

8. As of 7 June 1999, she had a nil balance in the ordinary account of her Central Provident Fund (CPF) savings. She had utilised $14,090.00 from her CPF account for the purchase of the Amberville property. The accrued interest on the funds utilised was $23,373.69 as at May 1999.

9. The wife had $43,660.39 worth of shares in her CDP account as at 31 May 1999.

The Husband

10. The husband is 62 years old. He is a retired bank manager. He is a director of Lian & Sons Holdings Pte Ltd and LTL Investments Pte Ltd. He receives a salary of $3,000 per month from Chung Shan Plastics Pte Ltd.

11. In October 1997, the husband was involved in an accident and sustained serious brain injuries. He is currently receiving treatment for depression and his neurological injuries and attends a rehabilitation programme 3 times a week.

12. As at 21 June 1999, the husband had $1,567.72 in the ordinary account of his CPF savings. He had utilised a total sum of $80,043.00 for the purchase of the Amberville property. The accrued interest on the sum utilised is $132,955.81 as at 21 June 1999.

13. The husband had a securities account with the Central Depository (Pte) Ltd, with shares worth $60,820 as at 21 October 1999.

14. The husband had a personal bank account with the Communication Bank, Shanghai China account number 01 1012142 020000 15378. This account had a balance of US$25,500 or S$43,162.50.

Division of Matrimonial Assets

15. Except for the properties at Thomson Green and Braddell Hill, the husband did not dispute that the assets claimed by the wife were matrimonial assets within the meaning of section 112(10) of the Women’s Charter to be divided. The wife did not pursue her claim for the Thomson Green and Braddell Hill properties at the hearing. She did not dispute and accepted the values of the assets as declared by the husband. The wife prayed for equal division of all the matrimonial assets (gross value) while the husband offered her 30% of the nett valuation of the matrimonial flat and 15% of the nett valuation of all the other matrimonial assets.

(a) The matrimonial flat at Block 50D #18-27 Marine Parade Road Singapore (the "Amberville property")

16. The parties were married on 2 December 1963. After their marriage, they stayed with the wife’s parents. They bought their first matrimonial home in 1965, 59-A Jalan Novena ("the Novena property") for about $16,000.00. The wife said that the 10% deposit was borrowed from a close relative, one Madam Ow Siang Ngor. She repaid this loan when she received her backpay. The wife’s contention was supported by an affidavit from Madam Ow. The husband disputed this and said that the 10% deposit was borrowed from his 2^nd eldest brother, Lian Tong Leng, who then told his wife, Madam Ow Siang Ngoh to give them the money. It was he who repaid the loan to his brother and not the wife. Parties agreed that the balance 90% of the purchase price was financed from a staff loan obtained by the husband from the Malayan Bank. The monthly bank loan repayments were deducted from the husband’s salary. The wife did not dispute this.

17. In 1968, the Novena Property was sold and in 1969, their second matrimonial property at 15 Carnation Drive ("the Carnation property") was purchased for $42,000.00. The husband took an 80% loan from his employer bank to finance this purchase. The husband serviced the bank loan for this property. The wife did not dispute these facts. The husband said that he spent $10,000.00 over a 2-year period enlarging the built-in area, constructing a new boundary wall with timber fencing and a fishpond. The wife contended that the money came from their joint account, into which she faithfully deposited her salary every month.

18. In 1971, the Carnation property was sold for $95,000.00 and the parties made a profit of $53,000.00. The parties then bought a house at Jalan Chengam ("the Jalan Chengam property") for $33,000.00. They did not use the profits from the sale of the Carnation Property but instead chose to take a government loan in the wife’s name. The monthly repayments for this loan were deducted from the wife’s salary. The husband took the profits and invested them in several share counters, in particular M & G Investment Holdings Copper Industries and Haw Par. Again, the wife did not dispute these facts.

19. In mid 1972, the parties purchased a house at 8 Jalan Hikayat ("the Jalan Hikayat property") for $42,000.00. The husband said that he took a loan/overdraft from OCBC bank and spent a few thousand dollars for minor repairs. The wife disputed these repairs. It was not disputed that...