Panin International Credit v Ngan Ching Wen: Setting Aside Default Judgment for Moneylender's Action

In Panin International Credit (S) Pte Ltd v Ngan Ching Wen, the Singapore High Court heard an appeal by Ngan Ching Wen against the decision to set aside a default judgment entered against him in a moneylender's action. The judgment had been entered without the required leave of court. The High Court dismissed Ngan's appeal, finding that the justice of the case favored setting aside the unenforceable judgment, especially since Panin's attempt to enforce the judgment in Malaysia had failed.

1. Case Overview

1.1 Court

High Court

1.2 Outcome

Appeal dismissed

1.3 Case Type

Civil

1.4 Judgment Type

Grounds of Decision

1.5 Jurisdiction

Singapore

1.6 Description

Appeal regarding setting aside a default judgment in a moneylender's action. The court dismissed the appeal, allowing the judgment to be set aside.

1.7 Decision Date

9 November 2010

2. Parties and Outcomes

Party Name	Role	Type	Outcome	Outcome Type	Counsels
Panin International Credit (S) Pte Ltd	Respondent	Corporation	Appeal dismissed	Lost	Phua Siow Choon
Ngan Ching Wen	Appellant	Individual	Appeal dismissed	Won	Tan Tian Luh, Ng Hweelon

3. Judges

Judge Name	Title	Delivered Judgment
Woo Bih Li	J	Yes

4. Counsels

Counsel Name	Organization
Tan Tian Luh	Chancery Law Corporation
Ng Hweelon	Legal Clinic LLC
Phua Siow Choon	Michael BB Ong & Co

4. Facts

Panin obtained a default judgment against Ngan in Singapore on 22 December 1999.
Panin did not obtain leave of court before entering the judgment, as required by O 79 r 4 of the Singapore ROC 1999.
Panin attempted to register the judgment in Malaysia, succeeding initially but ultimately failing after appeals.
The Malaysia Court of Appeal set aside the registration of the judgment due to the lack of leave from the Singapore High Court.
Panin then applied to the Singapore High Court to set aside the original default judgment and enter a fresh one.
Ngan contested the application to set aside the judgment, arguing delay and prejudice.
The Assistant Registrar initially set aside the judgment, but this was appealed by Ngan.

5. Formal Citations

Panin International Credit (S) Pte Ltd v Ngan Ching Wen, Suit No 1404 of 1999 (Registrar's Appeal No 600002 of 2010), [2010] SGHC 332

6. Timeline

Date	Event
1999-09-24	Panin filed writ of summons against Ngan.
1999-11-23	Writ of Summons served on Ngan.
1999-12-22	Judgment in default of Ngan’s appearance entered against him.
2000-02-16	Panin filed Originating Summons to register the Judgment in Malaysia.
2000-05-08	Ngan filed application to strike out the registration application.
2000-05-11	Ngan filed application for security for costs against Panin.
2000-07-17	Application for security for costs heard and Panin furnished security.
2001-04-09	Court allowed the registration and struck out Ngan’s application.
2001-04-10	Ngan filed 2 notices of appeal.
2001-11-19	Ngan filed summons-in-chambers for leave to adduce fresh evidence.
2001-12-12	Ngan’s 2 appeals and his summons-in-chambers were heard and dismissed by the High Court.
2002-02-20	Ngan appealed against the decision of the High Court.
2002-05-21	Ngan applied to the Court of Appeal for a stay of execution.
2002-07-15	The Court of Appeal granted Ngan’s stay application.
2002-08-14	Panin filed a Notice of Motion to set aside the stay order.
2003-10-28	The Federal Court directed Ngan to withdraw his appeal.
2003-11-04	Panin issued a Notice to Judgment Debtor of Registration of Foreign Judgment.
2004-02-06	Notice of Registration of Foreign Judgment served on Ngan.
2004-02-19	Ngan filed application to set aside the service of Notice of Registration of Foreign Judgment.
2004-03-15	Ngan withdrew appeal and a consent order was entered into.
2004-04-16	Ngan filed application to set aside registration of judgment dated 9 April 2001.
2004-12-22	Both applications were heard before the Senior Assistant Registrar and dismissed.
2004-12-24	Ngan filed appeals against the dismissal of both applications.
2007-08-15	Both appeals were heard and dismissed by the High Court.
2007-08-29	Ngan filed appeals to the Court of Appeal.
2007-12-06	Panin filed application for leave to execute judgment against Ngan.
2008-05-23	Panin’s application was heard and granted.
2008-10-28	Panin filed Bankruptcy Notice against Ngan.
2008-12-19	Ngan filed application for stay of execution of judgment of 9 April 2001.
2009-01-13	Ngan filed application to set aside Bankruptcy Notice.
2009-07-01	Ngan filed appeal against order granting leave to execute judgment against him.
2009-09-10	Ngan’s application to set aside the Bankruptcy Notice was heard before the SAR and granted.
2009-09-16	Panin filed appeal against the setting aside of the Bankruptcy Notice.
2009-10-28	The SAR dismissed Ngan’s application for a stay of execution.
2009-11-26	The Court of Appeal heard Ngan’s appeals and allowed the appeals and set aside the registration of foreign judgment made on 9 April 2001.
2009-12-23	Panin filed application for leave to appeal to Federal Court.
2010-02-04	Panin withdrew appeal against setting aside of Bankruptcy Notice.
2010-05-17	Panin’s application was heard and dismissed.
2010-05-24	Panin filed Summons to set aside the Judgment and enter a fresh default judgment against Ngan.
2010-05-26	Application served by post on Ngan.
2010-06-03	Panin filed and served affidavit by Panin’s Malaysia solicitors on Ngan.
2010-06-07	Summons heard before AR Then Ling. AR Then Ling set aside the Judgment and granted Panin leave to enter a fresh default judgment against Ngan.
2010-07-21	Ngan filed Summons to apply for the court to re-hear Summons and to set aside orders made on 7.6.10.
2010-09-20	Ngan’s application was heard before AR Jordan Tan who set aside the orders made by AR Then Ling on 7.6.10 and re-heard Summons. He set aside the Judgment and granted leave to Ngan to file his appearance in this action. He dismissed Panin’s application for leave to enter a fresh default judgment against Ngan.
2010-09-29	Ngan filed the present appeal to a judge in chambers.
2010-10-29	I dismissed Ngan’s appeal.
2010-11-10	Decision Date

7. Legal Issues

Setting Aside Default Judgment
- Outcome: The court held that the default judgment should be set aside, as the justice of the case favored doing so.
- Category: Procedural
- Sub-Issues:
  - Irregular Judgment
  - Delay in Application
  - Prejudice to Defendant
- Related Cases:
  - [2008] 4 SLR(R) 907
  - [2006] EWHC 79 (Comm)
Enforceability of Judgment
- Outcome: The court found that the original judgment was unenforceable in Malaysia due to non-compliance with procedural rules.
- Category: Substantive
- Sub-Issues:
  - Registration of Judgment in Foreign Jurisdiction
  - Compliance with Procedural Rules
Election and Approbation
- Outcome: The court held that the principle of election and the doctrine of approbation and reprobation did not apply in this case.
- Category: Substantive
- Related Cases:
  - [2005] EWHC 345 (Ch)
  - [2006] 1 SLR(R) 358

8. Remedies Sought

Setting Aside Default Judgment
Fresh Default Judgment

9. Cause of Actions

Moneylender's Action

10. Practice Areas

Commercial Litigation

11. Industries

Finance

12. Cited Cases

Case Name	Court	Affirmed	Citation	Jurisdiction	Significance
Mercurine Pte Ltd v Canberra Development Pte Ltd	High Court	Yes	[2008] 4 SLR(R) 907	Singapore	Cited for the principle that a long delay may not be procedurally incurable or fatal to a setting-aside application and that the court's concern is the justice of the case.
MacQuarie Bank Ltd v Beaconsfield and Others	Supreme Court of Victoria	No	[1992] 2 VR 461	Australia	Cited for the principle that the court's concern is the justice of the case when setting aside a default judgment.
Cannan v Reynolds	Court of Exchequer	No	119 ER 493	England and Wales	Cited for the principle that the court's concern is the justice of the case when setting aside a default judgment.
Messer Griesheim GmbH v Goyal MG Gases PVT Ltd	English High Court	Yes	[2006] EWHC 79 (Comm)	England and Wales	Cited for the reasoning that a default judgment should be set aside if it is not enforceable in the foreign jurisdiction where the defendant's assets are located.
Nexus Communications Group Limited v Michael Lambert, Pamela Rosemary Lambert, Kenneth James Munn	English High Court	No	[2005] EWHC 345 (Ch)	England and Wales	Cited for the principle of election at common law and the doctrine of approbation and reprobation.
Treasure Valley Group Ltd v Saputra Teddy and another (Ultramarine Holdings Ltd, intervener)	High Court	No	[2006] 1 SLR(R) 358	Singapore	Cited for the principle of equitable election and the doctrine of approbation and reprobation.
Macquarie (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd v HSBC Bank Malaysia Berhad and Anor	Malaysia Court of Appeal	No	Macquarie (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd v HSBC Bank Malaysia Berhad and Anor (Civil Appeal nos. W-03-10-2006 and W-03-11-2006)	Malaysia	Cited as an example where the Malaysia Court of Appeal did not allow a plaintiff to set aside a judgment that it had entered.
Lee Theng Wee v Tay Chor Teng	High Court	No	[2003] SGHC 173	Singapore	Cited as an example of a case where the defendant’s delay in making a setting-aside application was not looked upon kindly by the court.

13. Applicable Rules

Rule Name
O 79 r 4 of the Rules of Court (Cap 322, R5, 1999 Rev Ed)
O 13 r 8 of the Singapore ROC
O 2 r 1 of the Singapore ROC 1999
O 32 r 5(3) of the Rules of Court (Cap 322, R 5, 2006 Rev Ed)

14. Applicable Statutes

Statute Name	Jurisdiction
Rules of Court (Cap 322, R5, 1999 Rev Ed)	Singapore
Rules of Court (Cap 322, R 5, 2006 Rev Ed)	Singapore
Malaysia Reciprocal Enforcement of Judgments Act 1958 (Act 99)	Malaysia

15. Key Terms and Keywords

15.1 Key Terms

Default Judgment
Setting Aside
Irregular Judgment
Leave of Court
Enforcement of Judgment
Malaysia Reciprocal Enforcement of Judgments Act 1958
Election
Approbation and Reprobation

15.2 Keywords

default judgment
setting aside
moneylender
Singapore
Malaysia
enforcement
appeal

16. Subjects

Civil Procedure
Contract Law
Debt Recovery
Conflict of Laws

17. Areas of Law

Civil Procedure
Contract Law
Moneylender's Action
Reciprocal Enforcement of Judgments