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In the High Court of the Republic of Singapore
[1999] SGHC 20
Suit 1177/1997
Between
Tropical Associated Construction Co Pte Ltd |
… Plaintiff
And
Tan Wee Gee |
… Defendant
grounds of decision
This judgment is subject to final editorial corrections approved by the court and/or redaction pursuant to the publisher’s duty in compliance with the law, for publication in LawNet and/or the Singapore Law Reports. |
Tropical Associated Construction Co Pte Ltd v Tan Wee Gee
[1999] SGHC 20
Suit 1177/1997
Goh Joon Seng J
23 January 1999
Goh Joon Seng J
23 January 1999
1
Judgment :
Judgment :
2 1 The Plaintiff’s claims were for:
3
4 (ii) $84,023.28 being loans to the Defendant.
5
6
7 The Parties
8
9
10 The factual background
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18 (ii) what was the monthly payment of $1,000 for.
19
20
21 in-chief:
22
23 (i) 6 May 1992 to 31 December 1992 - $325,389
24 (ii) 1993 - $575,329
25 (iii) 1994 - $466,758
26 (iv) 1995 - $409,862
27 (v) 1996 - $2,016,716
28
29
30
31
A: I have.Q: When you saw them, did you read them?A: Must have.A: No."
32
33
34 Particulars
S/No | Description | Date loan given | ||
1 | Deposit for motor vehicle (11th December 1992) | 11/12/92 | TLB cheque no. 153335 | 15,000.00 |
2 | Loan for purchase of vehicle (QEZ 4867T) | On or about 24/04/1992 | 45,000.00 | |
3 | Cash loan given on 26th January 1995 | On or about 26/01/1995 | UOB cheque no. 658100 | 10,000.00 |
4 | Telephone expenses (1994) | 31/12/1994 | Cash | 97.00 |
5 | On or about 10/06/1994 | UOB cheque no. 526119 | 5,565.00 | |
6 | Postage Charges (UPS) (1995) | 26/09/1994 | Debit note no. 005/94 | 20.00 |
7 | Payment to Messrs In Tong Woodwork Consultants (1995) | 26/07/1995 | UOB cheque no. 760175 | 900.00 |
8 | Personal purchases from Rational Studio (4 invoices) | 6,361.28 | ||
9 | Purchase of handphone | 27/09/1994 | UOB cheque no. 580776 | 1,480 |
10 | Less:Proceeds for sale of vehicle (QEZ 4867T) | 06/04/1994 | MBB cheque no. 661196 | (400.00) |
Total: | S$84,023.28 |
35
36
37
38 The proceedings
39
40
Project/Contractor(s) | Value | |
(a) | Parkshore Condo/Mitsui Construction | $650,000 |
(b) | Merasaga Condo/Contech Construction | $800,000 |
(c) | Albert Court/Hexacon | $1,100,000 |
(d) | Condominium /Sumitomo Construction | $900,000 |
(e) | Bayshore/Mitsui Construction | $8,500,000 |
(f) | Condominium/Hazama Corp | $8,000,000 |
(g) | NUS Housing/Yee Hong | $900,000 |
(h) | Condominium/Hup Soon | $1,900,000 |
(i) | Condominium/Kwok Group | $1,800,000 |
(j) | Service apartment/Buildspeed | $700,000 |
(k) | Maplewoods/Kajima Corp | $900,000 |
(l) | Tan Tock Seng Hospital/Ssangyong | $2,400,000 |
(m) | Various other miscellaneous projects | $2,000,000 |
Total | $30,550,000 |
41
42 My decision
43
st
44
45 27 Under cross-examination, the Defendant conceded:
46
Q: When was this car sold?A: In April 1994."
47
48
A: No.A: No. But there were exchanges of correspondence.Q: Was there judgment against you by QAF in Suit 661/90?A: No.A: Yes.…A: Because I needed cash for convenience.A: Disagree, although I was made a bankrupt on 12.2.93.Q: Your financial affairs had to be managed by the O.A.?Q: Did you inform O.A. you were receiving $5,000 a month?A: The O.A. did not ask."
49
50 The claims and counterclaims
51
52
53
"KKK-1"
a copy of the audited accounts of Tropical (Rational Studio) for the years ended 31ststst December 1995 and 31st
a copy of the audited accounts of Tropical (Rational Studio) for the years ended 31ststst December 1995 and 31st
54 35 Kah Kim’s evidence under cross-examination was consistent
A: That’s so.Q: The three lines were taken over by Rational Studio?A: Yes.A: That’s so at that time.Q: You said in 1993-4 Plaintiffs went into project sales?A: Yes.A: Yes.Q: But you never discussed your options with Defendant?
55 A: That’s so.
Court:
56
(as opposed to 2%
commission on the sales of the retail section of TAC pertaining to the supply and/or
installation of products that TAC took over from Mainland, as alleged by the Plaintiffs)
commission on the sales of the retail section of TAC pertaining to the supply and/or
installation of products that TAC took over from Mainland, as alleged by the Plaintiffs)
57
"Q: You said you were in financial difficulty from 1988 to 1994?
Q: Nonetheless, you were made a bankrupt on 12.2.93?A: Yes.Q: And only discharged in December 1994?A: Yes.
58
59
60
61 41 In his affidavit of evidence-in-chief this was what he stated:
21 In the event, I secured numerous contracts, among which are:21.1 Parkshore Condominium - supply of timber doors and frames.21.2 Merasaga Condominium - supply of kitchen cabinets and wardrobe.21.3 Albert Court development - timber doors and windows.
21.7 NUS Housing - kitchen cabinets.21.9 Darby Park (service apartment) - kitchen cabinets and shelving.21.11 Tan Tock Seng Hospital - timber doors and frames.
62
63
64 "
65 July 30, 1998
66 Kea Holdings Pte Ltd
67 Att: Mr Edmund Kea
68 Dear Mr Edmund,
Looking forward to see you soon.
69 Signed
70 Nissho Iwai Tokyo
71 K. Matsuda"
72
"Q: Sawazaki and Ishiguro would have to report to Tanaka?Q: Can Sawazaki proceed with the arrangement if Tokyo objects?A: No.…Q: But if Tokyo disapproved, nothing could be done?A: That’s so.A: Yes."
73
( Contracts between contractors introduced by NIIS and )( )( TAC ..………. 3% on invoiced value of Contracts. ) "
74
75 "
SCHEDULE | ||||
Project Name | Parties | Date of Contract | Total ContractSum | |
1 | CHILTERN PARK COND | PENTA-OCEAN | $1,091,768.30 | |
2 | PARKSHORE COND | MITSUI CONST | $447,260.00 | |
3 | " | " | $277,000.00 | |
4 | " | " | $84,368.92 | |
5 | MERASAGA COND | $816,926.00 | ||
6 | SPRING GROVE COND | SUMITOMO CONST | 28.5.94 | $1,834,839.90 |
"
76
77
78
A: I did not claim I got it on my own merit."
79
80 Claim for repayment of the loans amounting to $84,023.28
81
82
83
"Dear Kim…… "
84
A: Yes.A: That’s so, because I had not settled [with] the banks."
85
"Q: … Who is to pay the fine for failure to pay road tax?A: That paragraph is not correctly worded.…Q: The road tax not paid was for 1.1.94 to 30.4.94. Tender "P2A: I stand by what I said.
86
87
88 GOH JOON SENG
89 JUDGE
Goh Joon Seng J |
Hee Theng Fong with Doris Damaris Lee (Hee Theng Fong & Co) for the plaintiff
Raymond Tan (Raymond Tan & Co) for the defendant
Raymond Tan (Raymond Tan & Co) for the defendant
This judgment text has undergone conversion so that it is mobile and web-friendly. This may have created formatting or alignment issues. Please refer to the PDF copy for a print-friendly version.
Version No 1: 11 Sep 2026 (01:05 hrs)