Lim Chong Poon v Chiang Sing Jeong: Assessment of Damages for Breach of Trust Deed

Lim Chong Poon appealed to the Court of Appeal of Singapore against the High Court's assessment of damages resulting from Chiang Sing Jeong's breach of a trust deed. The trust deed involved 310,000 shares in Sentosa Tiger Island (STI). The High Court awarded Lim Chong Poon $10,000 in nominal damages after finding the expert valuations unsatisfactory. The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, agreeing that there was insufficient evidence to determine the value of the Trust Shares as of the valuation date.

1. Case Overview

1.1 Court

Court of Appeal of the Republic of Singapore

1.2 Outcome

Appeal dismissed

1.3 Case Type

Civil

1.4 Judgment Type

Ex Tempore Judgment

1.5 Jurisdiction

Singapore

1.6 Description

Appeal regarding the assessment of damages for breach of trust. The court dismissed the appeal, finding insufficient evidence to determine the value of the shares.

1.7 Decision Date

2. Parties and Outcomes

Party NameRoleTypeOutcomeOutcome TypeCounsels
Lim Chong PoonAppellant, PlaintiffIndividualAppeal DismissedLost
Chiang Sing JeongRespondent, DefendantIndividualAppeal DismissedWon

3. Judges

Judge NameTitleDelivered Judgment
Andrew Phang Boon LeongJudge of AppealYes
Belinda Ang Saw EanJudgeNo

4. Counsels

Counsel NameOrganization
Ong Pei ChingTSMP Law Corporation
Tan Gim Hai AdrianTSMP Law Corporation
David Aw JingweiTSMP Law Corporation
Yeoh Jean AnnTSMP Law Corporation
Pratap KishanKishan Law Chambers LLC

4. Facts

  1. Lim Chong Poon sued Chiang Sing Jeong for breach of trust.
  2. The trust deed involved 310,000 shares in Sentosa Tiger Island (STI).
  3. The valuation date for the Trust Shares was 13 October 2009.
  4. The High Court awarded $10,000 in nominal damages.
  5. The main asset of STI was a property at No 11 Siloso Road.
  6. An offer from Royal Raffles Resort Pte Ltd (RRR) to purchase all of STI’s shares for $16m was withdrawn.
  7. The Building Agreement had been breached before the valuation date.

5. Formal Citations

  1. Lim Chong Poon v Chiang Sing Jeong, Civil Appeal No 174 of 2019, [2020] SGCA 27

6. Timeline

DateEvent
Building Agreement dated
Deed of Novation and Supplemental Agreement executed
Trust deed dated
Annual Value of the Property was S$482,000
Shares allotted to Tan Tee Seng
Shares allotted to Almega Investments Pte Ltd
Soh Kee Hoon appointed to the board of directors
Email sent regarding distribution of S$14.4m from RRR
Terms of Transfer agreement entered into
Valuation date
Court of Appeal affirmed decision in Sentosa Development Corp v Sentosa Tiger Island Pte Ltd
IRAS letter stated Annual Value of the Property was S$482,000 from 1 March 2007
Trial for assessment of damages heard
Judgment delivered

7. Legal Issues

  1. Breach of Trust
    • Outcome: The court found that the defendant had breached the trust deed.
    • Category: Substantive
  2. Assessment of Damages
    • Outcome: The court found that there was insufficient evidence to determine the quantum of damages and upheld the award of nominal damages.
    • Category: Substantive
  3. Expert Evidence
    • Outcome: The court rejected the evidence of both parties' experts on the value of the shares.
    • Category: Procedural

8. Remedies Sought

  1. Monetary Damages

9. Cause of Actions

  • Breach of Trust

10. Practice Areas

  • Commercial Litigation

11. Industries

  • Real Estate
  • Tourism

12. Cited Cases

Case NameCourtAffirmedCitationJurisdictionSignificance
Lee Hsien Loong v Review Publishing Co Ltd and another and another suitSingapore High CourtYes[2007] 2 SLR(R) 453SingaporeCited for the principle that the court has the power to choose between conflicting expert testimony.
Sakthivel Punithavathi v Public ProsecutorSingapore High CourtYes[2007] 2 SLR(R) 983SingaporeCited for the principle that the consistency and logic of the preferred expert evidence is paramount.
Sentosa Development Corp v Sentosa Tiger Island Pte LtdSingapore High CourtYes[2011] SGHC 168SingaporeCited to establish that STI was ordered to deliver possession of the Property to SDC due to breaches of the Building Agreement.
Almega Investments Pte Ltd and another v Chiang Sing JeongSingapore High CourtYes[2017] SGHC 196SingaporeCited to provide background on the allotment of shares to Tan and Almega and the appointment of Soh to the board of directors.
Abhilash s/o Kunchian Krishnan v Yeo Hock Huat and anotherCourt of AppealYes[2019] 1 SLR 873SingaporeCited for the principle that a genuine third-party offer to acquire shares should be taken into account when determining the fair market value of those shares.
Robertson Quay Investment Pte Ltd v Steen Consultants Pte Ltd and anotherCourt of AppealYes[2008] 2 SLR(R) 623SingaporeCited for the proposition that the mere fact that damages cannot be assessed with certainty does not relieve the wrongdoer of the necessity of paying damages.
Biofuel Industries Pte Ltd v V8 Environmental Pte Ltd and another appealCourt of AppealYes[2018] 2 SLR 199SingaporeCited in relation to the principle that the court must do the best it can to assess the damage suffered where precise evidence cannot be obtained.

13. Applicable Rules

Rule Name
No applicable rules

14. Applicable Statutes

Statute NameJurisdiction
No applicable statutes

15. Key Terms and Keywords

15.1 Key Terms

  • Trust Shares
  • Sentosa Tiger Island
  • STI
  • Valuation Date
  • Nominal Damages
  • Building Agreement
  • Leasehold Tenure
  • Terms of Transfer
  • Supplemental Terms of Transfer

15.2 Keywords

  • trust
  • shares
  • damages
  • valuation
  • appeal
  • singapore

17. Areas of Law

Area NameRelevance Score
Trust Law75
Breach of Trust70
Damages60
Expert evidence50
Civil Procedure50
Valuation of Shares40
Contract Law30
Arbitration10

16. Subjects

  • Trusts
  • Valuation
  • Damages
  • Civil Litigation