The Court of Appeal of the Republic of Singapore on Thursday (28 October) dismissed the case of the founder of Hin Leong Trading, Lim Oon Kuin, and his two children, according to The StraitsTimes.
The Lims were further ordered by the two-judge Court of Appeal to pay legal cost amounting USD 42,000 to the judicial managers on indemnity basis due to unreasonable conduct, amongst others.
The Lims were appealing against an order to return USD 19.02 million (SGD 25.6 million) they had transferred from Ocean Tankers, a sister company of collapsed oil trading giant Hin Leong.
The justices on Thursday described the Lim family’s attempt as an ill-advised attempt to seek a different outcome.
“The Lims’ arguments, with respect, were simply without any factual or legal basis, given the fact that they were simply irreconcilable with the contemporaneous documents placed before the court,”according to the court.
The court said Lims’ hired expert witnesses providing reasons regarding Ocean Tankers need to be considered solvent at a specific time.
“Apart from disregarding the admissions made in affidavits by the Lims, it can hardly be doubted that this has resulted in further unnecessary litigation that has tended to obfuscate rather than to illuminate,”it states.
The lawsuit was centred on two payments from Ocean Tankers to bank transactions relating to the Lims’ before the company filed for judicial management last year.
On 3 April last year, payment transaction was made through a joint account by Lim and his daughter while a 13 April transaction was paid to his personal account. These two payments made last year from Ocean Tankers approved by the two siblings were uncovered by the judicial managers.
A summary judgement was applied by the judicial managers asking the high court to rule in their favor without a full trial.
The Lim family explained that Ocean Tankers was either insolvent or close to insolvency at the time the payments were made.
The high court stated the Lims, as directors of Ocean Tankers, owed fiduciary duties to take into account the interests of its creditors to ensure that its assets were not dissipated or exploited for their own benefit.
Earlier developments regarding Ocean Tankers can be found below:
Related: Singapore: Ocean Tankers winding up application to be heard in court
Related: Ocean Tankers judicial managers progressing to liquidate firm after expiry of court order
Related: Singapore: Gulf Oil International to acquire Ocean Tankers lube oil blending facility
Related: First creditors meeting of Ocean Tankers to be held in early January 2021
Related: Ocean Tankers publishes notice for creditors to prove any debts or claims for publication
Related: Singapore: Ocean Tankers Tuas Terminal to undergo voluntary wind up
Related: Ocean Tankers to return most ships to owners to reduce $540,000 a day cash burn
Related: Managers of Ocean Tankers looking to recover USD 19 million from Lim family
Related: Ocean Tankers legal team publishes application to be placed under judicial management
Related: Judicial management applications for Hin Leong Trading and Ocean Tankers delayed
Related: Judicial managers of Ocean Tankers discover discrepancies and fraud in exposure claims
Related: Judicial managers of Ocean Tankers to present restructuring proposals to owners
Photo credit: Manifold Times
Published: 29 October, 2021
