Wu Shun Foods v Ken Ken Food: Enforcing Foreign Judgments & Contract Illegality

Wu Shun Foods Co Ltd, a Taiwanese company, sued Ken Ken Food Manufacturing Pte Ltd, a Singaporean company, to enforce a judgment obtained in Taiwan for breach of contract. Ken Ken argued the underlying contract was illegal under Taiwanese import regulations and should not be enforced in Singapore. The High Court of Singapore dismissed Ken Ken's application to strike out Wu Shun's claim, holding that Ken Ken could not raise the issue of illegality in Singaporean courts after failing to raise it in the Taiwanese proceedings.

1. Case Overview

1.1 Court

High Court

1.2 Outcome

Application by the defendant to strike out the plaintiff's claim was dismissed.

1.3 Case Type

Civil

1.4 Judgment Type

Grounds of Decision

1.5 Jurisdiction

Singapore

1.6 Description

Singapore court addresses enforcing a Taiwan judgment. Ken Ken Food Manufacturing's defense of contract illegality due to Taiwan import regulations was dismissed.

1.7 Decision Date

11 August 2002

2. Parties and Outcomes

Party Name	Role	Type	Outcome	Outcome Type	Counsels
Wu Shun Foods Co Ltd	Plaintiff	Corporation	Claim not struck out	Neutral	Hee Theng Fong, Tay Wee Chong
Ken Ken Food Manufacturing Pte Ltd	Defendant	Corporation	Application Dismissed	Lost	Margaret Wan, Andrew Ho

3. Judges

Judge Name	Title	Delivered Judgment
Woo Bih Li	Judicial Commissioner	Yes

4. Counsels

Counsel Name	Organization
Hee Theng Fong	Hee Theng Fong & Co
Tay Wee Chong	Hee Theng Fong & Co
Margaret Wan	Braddell Bros
Andrew Ho	Braddell Bros

4. Facts

Wu Shun and Ken Ken entered into a contract for the purchase of cuttlefish.
Ken Ken failed to deliver the goods.
Wu Shun sued Ken Ken in Taiwan and obtained a judgment.
Ken Ken did not raise the issue of illegality in the Taiwan courts.
Wu Shun commenced an action in Singapore to enforce the Taiwan judgment.
Ken Ken applied to strike out Wu Shun’s claim, alleging the contract was illegal under Taiwan import regulations.

5. Formal Citations

Wu Shun Foods Co Ltd v Ken Ken Food Manufacturing Pte Ltd, D C Suit 4047/2001/A, [2002] SGHC 176

6. Timeline

Date	Event
1994-09-12	Contract for purchase of cuttlefish entered into
1995-04-01	Wu Shun commenced action against Ken Ken in Taipei District Court
1995-12-04	Taipei District Court gave judgment in favor of Wu Shun
1997-04-14	Taiwan High Court dismissed Ken Ken’s appeal
1997-04-14	Ken Ken appealed to the Supreme Court of Taiwan
1998-05-28	Supreme Court of Taiwan allowed Ken Ken’s appeal and directed a rehearing
1998-12-16	Rehearing at the Taiwan High Court; Ken Ken’s appeal was dismissed
2000-06-08	Supreme Court of Taiwan dismissed Ken Ken’s appeal
2001-10-15	Wu Shun commenced action in Singapore to sue on the Taiwan judgment
2001-10-22	Ken Ken entered an appearance to the Singapore action
2001-12-05	Wu Shun applied for summary judgment
2001-12-11	Applications for security for costs and summary judgment were adjourned
2002-01-22	Applications were adjourned pending decision in Hong’s case
2002-01-28	Ken Ken applied to strike out Wu Shun’s claim
2002-01-29	Deputy Registrar dismissed the application for striking out
2002-02-21	Ken Ken filed a Notice of Appeal to the District Judge
2002-04-08	Ken Ken served its Notice of Appeal to the High Court
2002-05-25	District Judge dismissed Ken Ken’s appeal
2002-08-12	High Court dismissed the appeal

7. Legal Issues

Enforcement of Foreign Judgments
- Outcome: The court held that the issue of illegality could not be raised in Singaporean courts because it was not raised in the original Taiwan court proceedings.
- Category: Substantive
- Sub-Issues:
  - Whether a foreign judgment based on an illegal agreement should be enforced
  - Whether the issue of illegality can be raised in the enforcing court if not raised in the original court
- Related Cases:
  - [2002] 2 SLR 81
Contract Illegality
- Outcome: The court found that even if there was a breach of import regulations, it was the effect of the breach that was significant, and this could not be resolved through affidavit evidence alone.
- Category: Substantive
- Sub-Issues:
  - Breach of import regulations
  - Whether a contract in breach of regulation is void or unenforceable

8. Remedies Sought

Enforcement of Foreign Judgment
Recovery of advance payment

9. Cause of Actions

Breach of Contract
Enforcement of Foreign Judgment

10. Practice Areas

Commercial Litigation

11. Industries

Food Manufacturing
Import/Export

12. Cited Cases

Case Name	Court	Affirmed	Citation	Jurisdiction	Significance
Batra v Ebrahim	England and Wales Court of Appeal (Civil Division)	Yes	[1982] 2 Lloyds Rep 11	England and Wales	Cited regarding the court's duty to take note of illegality even if not pleaded.
Keng Soon Finance Bhd v MK Retnam Holdings Sdn Bhd & Anor	Malaysia Supreme Court	Yes	[1989] 1 MLJ 457	Malaysia	Cited regarding the court's obligation to take notice of illegality in an agreement.
Soleimany v Soleimany	England and Wales Court of Appeal (Civil Division)	Yes	[1999] QB 785	England and Wales	Cited regarding the enforcement of arbitration awards based on illegal contracts and public policy.
Hong Pian Tee v Les Placements Germain Gauthier Inc	Court of Appeal	Yes	[2002] 2 SLR 81	Singapore	Followed regarding the principle that an enforcement forum should not act as an appellate tribunal and re-litigate issues already decided by a foreign court.

13. Applicable Rules

Rule Name
No applicable rules

14. Applicable Statutes

Statute Name	Jurisdiction
No applicable statutes

15. Key Terms and Keywords

15.1 Key Terms

Foreign judgment
Enforcement
Illegality
Import regulation
Comity
Taiwan judgment
Striking out application

15.2 Keywords

Foreign Judgment Enforcement
Contract Illegality
Singapore High Court
Taiwan Import Regulations

16. Subjects

Conflict of Laws
Contract Law
International Trade
Civil Procedure

17. Areas of Law

Conflict of Laws
Contract Law
Enforcement of Foreign Judgments
Illegality and Public Policy