Sunlink Engineering Pte Ltd v Koru Bena Sdn Bhd

• Jurisdiction: Singapore
• Judge: Tan Lee Meng J
• Judgment Date: 30 May 2003
• Neutral Citation: [2003] SGHC 120
• Docket Number: Suit No 1315 of 2002
• Date: 30 May 2003
• Year: 2003
• Published date: 02 October 2003
• Plaintiff Counsel: Tan Tian Luh (Rajah & Tann)
• Citation: [2003] SGHC 120
• Defendant Counsel: Genevieve Chia (Tan Peng Chin LLC)
• Court: High Court (Singapore)
• Subject Matter: Whether sufficient that plaintiff requires High Court judgment for enforcement in Malaysia under reciprocal enforcement legislation,Transfer of case from High Court to Subordinate Courts,Whether case should be heard in High Court when amount sued for is below minimum required,Courts and Jurisdiction,Transfer of cases,Judges

1. The appellants, Koru Bena Sdn Bhd (“Koru Bena”), who were sued by the respondents, Sunlink Engineering Pte Ltd (“Sunlink”), for the sum of $46,051.90, applied to have the action transferred from the High Court to the Subordinate Courts. The application was dismissed by the Assistant Registrar. I allowed Koru Bena’s appeal against the Assistant Registrar’s decision and now give the reasons for my decision.

2. Koru Bena, a Malaysian company with a registered office in Singapore, were the contractors for the construction of Ping Yi Primary School. Sunlink, a Singapore company, were their sub-contractors for the supply of material, labour, tools and equipment required for the fabrication and installation of structural steel roof trusses for the school. Sunlink, which claimed that Koru Bena breached the contract by failing to pay them the sum of $46,051.90, instituted legal proceedings in the High Court to recover the amount allegedly owed to them. As the sum claimed by Sunlink from Koru Bena was very much less than the minimum amount required for a claim to be heard in the High Court, the latter understandably applied for the action to be transferred from the High Court to the Subordinate Courts.

3. As far as the power of the High Court to transfer an action to the Subordinate Courts is concerned, reference should first be made to section 18 of the Supreme Court of Judicature Act (“SCJA”) (Cap 322), which provides as follows:

Powers of High Court

(1) The High Court shall have such powers as are vested in it by any written law for the time being in force in Singapore.

(2) Without prejudice to the generality of sub-section (1), the High Court shall have the powers set out in the First Schedule.

Paragraph 10 of the First Schedule of the SCJA provides as follows:

Transfer of Proceedings

Power to transfer any proceedings to any other court or to or from any subordinate court, and in the case of transfer to or from a subordinate court to give any directions as to the further conduct thereof, except that this power shall be exercised in such manner as may be prescribed by Rules of Court.

4. Reference should also be made to section 37 of the Subordinate Courts Act (Cap 321), which provides as follows:

(1) In any action commenced by way of writ of summons in the High Court in the exercise of its original civil jurisdiction, any party may for any sufficient reason at any time apply to the High Court for an order that the proceedings be transferred...