Official Assignee of the estate of Tang Hsiu Lan, A Bankrupt v Pua Ai Seok and Others

JurisdictionSingapore
JudgeTan Lee Meng J
Judgment Date09 April 2001
Neutral Citation[2001] SGCA 23
Docket NumberCivil Appeal No 72 of 2000
Date09 April 2001
Year2001
Published date19 September 2003
Plaintiff CounselJames Ponniah (instructed) and Tan Lu Seng (Tan Lu Seng & Co)
Citation[2001] SGCA 23
Defendant CounselTan Soo Kiang and Simon Jones (Wee Swee Teow & Co),Anamah Tan and Sarjeet Singh (Ann Tan & Associates)
CourtCourt of Appeal (Singapore)
Subject MatterEstoppel,Equity,Whether issue estoppel applicable,Whether same issue re-opened?

(delivering the grounds of judgment of the court): In this case, the appellant, the official assignee of the estate of Madam Tang Hsiu Lan, a bankrupt, claimed that Madam Tang had a share in No 23 Margoliouth Road, Singapore, which is registered in the names of the first, second and third respondents. The appellant sought, among other things, an order that the said property be sold in the open market and that Madam Tang be paid the amount due to her after the sale of the said property. The trial judge refused to make the orders requested. We dismissed the appeal against his judgment and now set out the reasons for our decision.

Background

The first respondent, Madam Pua Ai Seok, is the mother of the second, third and fourth respondents. The second respondent, Mr Lee Siong, and the third respondent, Mr Lee Boon, are the younger brothers of the fourth respondent, Mr Lee Ee, who is Madam Tang`s former husband.

Madam Tang, who is from Taiwan, married Mr Lee Ee in 1983.
After their marriage, Madam Tang and Mr Lee Ee lived at No 505, Dunman Road, Singapore, together with Mr Lee Ee`s parents and his two brothers. In 1987, Madam Pua and her husband purchased a detached house at No 23, Margoliouth Road (hereinafter referred to as `the Margoliouth property`). The said property was registered in the names of Madam Pua, her husband and their three sons, Mr Lee Siong, Mr Lee Boon and Mr Lee Ee, as joint tenants. At that time, Mr Lee Siong and Mr Lee Boon were still students.

After the purchase of the Margoliouth property, Madam Tang lived there with Mr Lee Ee, his parents and his two brothers.
It was not disputed that the said property was her matrimonial home.

In 1992, Mr Lee Ee transferred his one-fifth share in the Margoliouth property to Madam Pua, Mr Lee Siong and Mr Lee Boon as joint tenants without any consideration being furnished by them.
At the same time, he also transferred his share in the family business to his father, without any consideration.

By 1995, Madam Tang`s marriage to Mr Lee Ee had broken down.
In 1996, they were divorced. Justice Sinnathuray, who dealt with the division of matrimonial property, divided the property on the basis that Mr Lee Ee still had a 20% share in the Margoliouth property. As such, he made the following order:

[Madam Tang] be given 40% of the one-fifth share of [the fourth respondent] in the property known as 23 Margoliouth Road, Singapore, that is, the sum of $760,000 and [the fourth respondent] to make payment to [Madam Tang] by 1 May 1997.



The $760,000 referred to in Justice Sinnathuray`s order was calculated on the basis that the Margoliouth property was worth $9.5m. Mr Lee Ee`s 20% share of this amount was $1.9m and Madam Tang`s 40% share of Mr Lee Ee`s share was $760,000.


Mr Lee Ee appealed against the ancillary orders, including the order for the division of matrimonial property.
The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal and allowed him to pay the sum of $760,000 to Madam Tang in two instalments.

Mr Lee Ee failed to pay Madam Tang the amount due to her.
In view of this, she obtained a writ of seizure and sale of one-fifth of the Margoliouth property on 23 December 1998.

On 6 January 1999, Madam Pua`s husband died.
As a result, she and her two younger sons, Mr Lee Siong and Mr Lee Boon, were the owners of the Margoliouth property by way of survivorship.

On 3 February 1999, the Registry of Land Titles informed Madam Pua, Mr Lee Siong and Mr Lee Boon that a writ of seizure and sale had been registered by Madam Tang against the Margoliouth property.


SIC No 3391 of 1999 and OS No 841 of 1999

In May 1999, Madam Tang filed SIC 3391/99 for the purpose of enforcing the writ of seizure and sale. She sought an order permitting her to sell the Margoliouth property by private treaty or public auction or an order that her beneficial interest in the said property be sold to Madam Pua, Mr Lee Siong and Mr Lee Boon for $760,000.

On 1 June 1999, Madam Pua, Mr Lee Siong and Mr Lee Boon filed OS 841/99, seeking, inter alia, a declaration that Madam Tang had no claim or interest in the Margoliouth property.


Although OS 841/99 involved a dispute between Madam Tang and Madam Pua, Mr Lee Siong and Mr Lee Boon while SIC 3391/99 involved a dispute between Madam Tang and Mr Lee Ee, Chao Hick Tin J, as he then was, heard OS 841/99 together with SIC 3391/99 as they both concerned Madam Tang`s claim that she had a share in the Margoliouth property.
He then made the following order on 23 July 1999:

(1) On the basis of the Order of the High Court dated 31 January 1997 in Divorce Petition No 2385 of 1995 and the judgment of the Court of Appeal in Civil Appeal No 30 of 1997 dated 26 September 1997, [Madam Tang] has no claim or interest in the [property] which is registered in the name of the [first, second...

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3 cases
  • Lee Tat Development Pte Ltd v Management Corporation of Grange Heights Strata Title No 301 (No 2)
    • Singapore
    • Court of Appeal (Singapore)
    • 12 April 2005
    ...it was not put forward as such at the appeal. This court in Official Assignee of the estate of Tang Hsiu Lan, a bankrupt and Pua Ai Seok [2001] 2 SLR 436 at [20], following Arnold v National Westminster Bank Plc [1991] 2 AC 93, Issue estoppel may arise where a particular issue forming a nec......
  • WSG Nimbus Pte Ltd v Board of Control for Cricket in Sri Lanka
    • Singapore
    • High Court (Singapore)
    • 13 May 2002
    ...Inc v Freyre & Co Inc [1994] 2 Lloyd's Rep 57 (distd) Tang Hsiu Lan, a bankrupt, Official Assignee of the estate of v Pua Ai Seok [2001] 1 SLR (R) 656; [2001] 2 SLR 436 (refd) Tracomin SA v Sudan Oil Seeds Co Ltd [1983] 3 All ER 137; [1983] 2 Lloyd's Rep 384 (refd) Westfal-Larsen & Co A/S v......
  • Lee Tat Development Pte Ltd v Management Corporation of Grange Heights Strata Title No 301 (No 2)
    • Singapore
    • Court of Three Judges (Singapore)
    • 12 April 2005
    ...it was not put forward as such at the appeal. This court in Official Assignee of the estate of Tang Hsiu Lan, a bankrupt and Pua Ai Seok [2001] 2 SLR 436 at [20], following Arnold v National Westminster Bank Plc [1991] 2 AC 93, Issue estoppel may arise where a particular issue forming a nec......
1 books & journal articles
  • Equity, Trust and Restitution
    • Singapore
    • Singapore Academy of Law Annual Review No. 2001, December 2001
    • 1 December 2001
    ...of the sale and allowed the claim. Issue estoppel 12.28 The case of Official Assignee of the estate of Tang Hsiu Lan v Pua Ai Seok[2001] 2 SLR 436 was concerned with a matrimonial dispute. Mdm Tang”s former husband, Mr Lee Ee had owned a property in Margoliouth Road as joint tenants with hi......

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