Lim Weipin v Lim Boh Chuan: Intestate Succession & Impersonation in Family Estate Dispute

In Lim Weipin and another v Lim Boh Chuan and others, the High Court of Singapore dismissed the plaintiffs' claim against the defendants concerning the estate of the late Mr. Lim Hong Choon. The plaintiffs, Lim Weipin and Lim Yuyan, claimed to be LHC's children and sought two-thirds of LHC's shares in a partnership, alleging that LHC's eldest son, Lim Tian Siong, impersonated LHC to take over his shares. The court found that the plaintiffs failed to prove their relationship to LHC and that their claim was time-barred. The court also found that there was no proof of impersonation and that the shares in the partnership were not converted to shares in the company.

1. Case Overview

1.1 Court

High Court

1.2 Outcome

Plaintiffs' claim is dismissed with costs.

1.3 Case Type

Civil

1.4 Judgment Type

Grounds of Decision

1.5 Jurisdiction

Singapore

1.6 Description

Estate dispute involving claims of inheritance rights under the Intestate Succession Act, allegations of impersonation, and tracing of assets.

1.7 Decision Date

29 March 2010

2. Parties and Outcomes

Party Name	Role	Type	Outcome	Outcome Type	Counsels
Lim Siew Bee	Defendant	Individual	Judgment for Defendant	Won	Sng Kheng Huat of Sng & Co Chew Swee Leng of JurisOne LLP
Lim Boh Chuan	Defendant	Individual	Judgment for Defendant	Won	Davinder Singh of Drew & Napier LLC Shobna d/o V Chandran of Drew & Napier LLC
Lim Puay Koon	Defendant	Individual	Judgment for Defendant	Won	Davinder Singh of Drew & Napier LLC Shobna d/o V Chandran of Drew & Napier LLC
Lim Weipin	Plaintiff	Individual	Claim Dismissed	Lost	Lim Bee Li of KhattarWong Irving Choh of KhattarWong
Lim Yuyan	Plaintiff	Individual	Claim Dismissed	Lost	Lim Bee Li of KhattarWong Irving Choh of KhattarWong
Administrators of Siong’s estate	Defendant	Other	Judgment for Defendant	Won	Davinder Singh of Drew & Napier LLC Sng Kheng Huat of Sng & Co Shobna d/o V Chandran of Drew & Napier LLC Chew Swee Leng of JurisOne LLP
Administrators of Goh Choon Eng’s estate	Defendant	Other	Judgment for Defendant	Won	Davinder Singh of Drew & Napier LLC Sng Kheng Huat of Sng & Co Shobna d/o V Chandran of Drew & Napier LLC Chew Swee Leng of JurisOne LLP

3. Judges

Judge Name	Title	Delivered Judgment
Tan Lee Meng	Judge	Yes

4. Counsels

Counsel Name	Organization
Sng Kheng Huat	Sng & Co
Chew Swee Leng	JurisOne LLP
Davinder Singh	Drew & Napier LLC
Shobna d/o V Chandran	Drew & Napier LLC
Lim Bee Li	KhattarWong
Irving Choh	KhattarWong

4. Facts

Lim Hong Choon (LHC) came to Singapore in the 1940s and returned to China in 1959.
Plaintiffs claimed to be LHC’s children and sought shares in a partnership and a company.
Plaintiffs alleged LHC’s eldest son, Lim Tian Siong (Siong), impersonated LHC to take over his shares.
Defendants disputed the plaintiffs’ claims and their relationship to LHC.
A partnership, Chop Hup Seng Huat, was formed in 1947 by LHC's brothers.
In 1952, a third partner, Lim Hong Choon alias Lim Tian Siong, joined the partnership.
LHC died intestate in China in 1981.
The partnership was terminated in 1983.
A company, Hup Seng Huat Pte Ltd, was incorporated in 1973 and later became Hupsteel Limited.
The plaintiffs instituted the action in 2008.

5. Formal Citations

Lim Weipin and another v Lim Boh Chuan and others, Suit No 455 of 2008, [2010] SGHC 99

6. Timeline

Date	Event
1940-01-01	Lim Hong Choon, Lim Boon Kee, and Lim Boon Wan came to Singapore.
1947-01-01	Lim Boon Kee and Lim Boon Wan set up the partnership, Chop Hup Seng Huat.
1952-08-29	Lim Hong Choon alias Lim Tian Siong joined the partnership.
1959-01-01	Lim Hong Choon left Singapore and returned to China.
1970-03-10	Another registration certificate of the partnership was issued.
1973-07-11	Lim Boon Kee died.
1973-07-19	Another registration certificate was issued in respect of the change of members of the partnership.
1973-07-31	Lim Boon Wan and Lim Tian Siong incorporated the company, Hup Seng Huat Pte Ltd.
1974-01-01	Lim Hong Choon suffered a stroke.
1974-09-20	The partnership was renamed Hup Seng Huat.
1975-01-01	The partnership sold a property to the company.
1981-02-26	Lim Hong Choon died intestate in China.
1983-06-27	The partnership was terminated.
1983-08-23	Lim Tian Siong died intestate in Singapore.
1992-07-26	Goh Choon Eng passed away intestate.
1994-01-22	The company became a public listed company named Hup Seng Huat Co Ltd.
2003-06-08	Lim Boon Wan passed away.
2005-01-01	The company’s name was changed to Hupsteel Limited.
2006-09-12	Beijing Zhong Ji sent a letter to Lim Boh Chuan.
2006-09-29	Shook Lin & Bok replied to Beijing Zhong Ji.
2006-10-16	Beijing Zhong Ji sent another letter to Shook Lin & Bok.
2006-11-14	Beijing Zhong Ji sent another letter to Shook Lin & Bok.
2006-11-21	Beijing Zhong Ji sent another letter to Shook Lin & Bok.
2006-12-01	An injunction was granted by Justice Lai Siu Chiu.
2008-07-01	The plaintiffs instituted the present action against the defendants.
2010-03-30	Judgment reserved.

7. Legal Issues

Intestate Succession
- Outcome: The plaintiffs failed to prove they were legitimate children or adopted children of the deceased and therefore could not claim under the Intestate Succession Act.
- Category: Substantive
- Sub-Issues:
  - Proof of kinship
  - Legitimacy of child
  - Adoption
  - Applicability of Intestate Succession Act
Impersonation
- Outcome: The court found that the plaintiffs did not provide sufficient evidence to prove that Lim Tian Siong impersonated Lim Hong Choon.
- Category: Substantive
- Sub-Issues:
  - Standard of proof for fraud
  - Evidence of impersonation
  - Validity of partnership records
Limitation of Actions
- Outcome: The court found that the plaintiffs' claim was time-barred under the Limitation Act.
- Category: Procedural
- Sub-Issues:
  - Applicable limitation period
  - Accrual of right to receive share in estate
  - Fraudulent breach of trust
Expert Witness Testimony
- Outcome: The court found that the plaintiffs' expert witness did not fulfill her duty to the court and undermined her credibility.
- Category: Procedural
- Sub-Issues:
  - Duty to the court
  - Disclosure of relationships
  - Credibility of expert

8. Remedies Sought

Two-thirds of shares in partnership
Shares in company
Declaration of constructive trust

9. Cause of Actions

Claim for share of estate under Intestate Succession Act
Constructive Trust

10. Practice Areas

Estate Litigation
Trust Litigation

11. Industries

No industries specified

12. Cited Cases

Case Name	Court	Affirmed	Citation	Jurisdiction	Significance
Wong Kai Woon alias Wong Kai Boon v Wong Kong Hom alias Ng Kong Hom & Others	High Court	Yes	[2000] 1 SLR 546	Singapore	Cited regarding the admissibility of notarial certificates as evidence.
Pacific Recreation Pte Ltd v Technology Inc	Court of Appeal	Yes	[2008] 2 SLR(R) 491	Singapore	Cited regarding an expert's duty to the court.
Ganapathy Muniandy v Khoo James	High Court	Yes	[2001] SGHC 165	Singapore	Cited regarding the disclosure of any special relationship between a party and his expert.
Yogambikai Nagarajah v Indian Overseas Bank	Court of Appeal	Yes	[1996] 2 SLR(R) 788	Singapore	Cited regarding the standard of proof for allegations of fraud, forgery or criminal conduct in civil cases.
Hornal v Neuberger Products Ltd	English Court of Appeal	Yes	[1957] 1 QB 247	England and Wales	Cited regarding the standard of proof for allegations of fraud, forgery or criminal conduct in civil cases.
Bater v Bater	Court of Appeal	Yes	[1951] P 35	England and Wales	Cited regarding the standard of proof for allegations of fraud, forgery or criminal conduct in civil cases.
Sturla v Freccia	House of Lords	Yes	(1880) LR 5 App Cas 623	United Kingdom	Cited to define a public document.
Teng Ah Kow and Another v Ho Sek Chiu and Others	High Court	Yes	[1993] 3 SLR(R) 43	Singapore	Cited regarding adverse inference for failing to call a relevant witness.
AAG v Estate of AAH, deceased	Court of Appeal	Yes	[2009] SGCA 56	Singapore	Cited regarding the exclusion of an illegitimate child from succeeding to his or her parent’s intestate estate.
Re Estate of Tan Kow Kee	High Court	Yes	[2007] 2 SLR(R) 417	Singapore	Cited regarding when the right to receive a share or interest in the estate accrues.

13. Applicable Rules

Rule Name
No applicable rules

14. Applicable Statutes

Statute Name	Jurisdiction
Intestate Succession Act (Cap 146, 1985 Rev Ed)	Singapore
Evidence Act (Cap 97, 1997 Rev Ed)	Singapore
Legitimacy Act (Cap 162, 1985 Rev Ed)	Singapore
Limitation Act (Cap 163, 1996 Rev Ed)	Singapore

15. Key Terms and Keywords

15.1 Key Terms

Intestate Succession Act
Impersonation
Constructive trust
Partnership
Hupsteel Limited
Notarial certificate
Ancestral book
Expert witness
Limitation Act
Locus standi

15.2 Keywords

Intestate succession
Estate
Inheritance
Family dispute
Impersonation
Trust
Singapore
High Court

17. Areas of Law

Area Name	Relevance Score
Succession Law	75
Intestate succession	65
Administration of Estates	55
Trust Law	50
Equity	40
Evidence Law	35
Civil Procedure	30
Contract Law	20
Corporate Law	15

16. Subjects

Trusts
Succession
Family