Rex Lam Paki v PNG Sustainable Development Program Ltd: Setting Aside Judgment on Admissions and Inherent Court Powers

Rex Lam Paki appealed against the decision to dismiss his application to set aside a judgment on admissions in favor of PNG Sustainable Development Program Ltd. The Appellate Division of the High Court of Singapore, comprising Justices Kannan Ramesh and Andre Maniam, dismissed the appeal, affirming the court's inherent power to set aside judgments to prevent injustice but finding no such injustice warranted in this case. The original claim involved breaches of fiduciary duties.

1. Case Overview

1.1 Court

Appellate Division of the High Court of the Republic of Singapore

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 judgment on admissions. The court affirmed its inherent power to prevent injustice but dismissed the appeal.

1.7 Decision Date

3 July 2023

2. Parties and Outcomes

Party Name	Role	Type	Outcome	Outcome Type	Counsels
Rex Lam Paki	Appellant	Individual	Appeal Dismissed	Lost	Boey Swee Siang of Premier Law LLC Suchitra Suresh Kumar of Premier Law LLC Abel George of Premier Law LLC
PNG Sustainable Development Program Ltd	Respondent	Corporation	Appeal Upheld	Won	Philip Teh Ahn Ren of Dentons Rodyk & Davidson LLP Alexander Choo Wei Wen of Dentons Rodyk & Davidson LLP Mark Jerome Seah Wei Hsien of Dentons Rodyk & Davidson LLP See Kwang Guan (Martin) of Dentons Rodyk & Davidson LLP

3. Judges

Judge Name	Title	Delivered Judgment
Kannan Ramesh	Judge of the Appellate Division	No
Andre Maniam	Judge of the High Court	Yes

4. Counsels

Counsel Name	Organization
Boey Swee Siang	Premier Law LLC
Suchitra Suresh Kumar	Premier Law LLC
Abel George	Premier Law LLC
Philip Teh Ahn Ren	Dentons Rodyk & Davidson LLP
Alexander Choo Wei Wen	Dentons Rodyk & Davidson LLP
Mark Jerome Seah Wei Hsien	Dentons Rodyk & Davidson LLP
See Kwang Guan (Martin)	Dentons Rodyk & Davidson LLP

4. Facts

Appellant was a former director of the respondent company.
In 2018, the respondent sued the appellant for breaches of fiduciary duties.
Appellant failed to file a defence despite being directed to do so.
Judgment was entered against the appellant on admissions of fact.
Appellant delayed applying to set aside the judgment for 17 months.
Appellant was prompted to act only after notification of judgment registration in other jurisdictions.

5. Formal Citations

Rex Lam PakivPNG Sustainable Development Program Ltd, Civil Appeal No 123 of 2021, [2023] SGHC(A) 24

6. Timeline

Date	Event
2018-01-01	Respondent sued the appellant for breaches of fiduciary duties.
2019-03-01	Writ was served on the appellant.
2019-11-26	Appellant directed to file his defence by 13 December 2019.
2019-12-20	Respondent applied for leave to enter judgment against the appellant in default of defence.
2020-01-30	Hearing of the application for judgment in default of defence.
2020-02-28	SUM 772 was first heard.
2020-03-02	PRP filed an application to be discharged as solicitors for the defendants.
2020-03-04	Court granted PRP a discharge from acting as solicitors for the defendants and entered judgment against the defendants.
2020-03-10	Respondent’s solicitors sent a copy of the Judgment to the defendants.
2021-08-06	Appellant filed HC/SUM 3731/2021 to set aside the Judgment.
2021-11-01	Judge dismissed SUM 3731.
2023-04-24	Civil Appeal No 123 of 2021 heard.
2023-07-04	Appeal dismissed with costs to the respondent.

7. Legal Issues

Inherent Power of the Court to Set Aside Judgments
- Outcome: The court affirmed its inherent power to set aside judgments or orders to prevent injustice.
- Category: Procedural
- Sub-Issues:
  - Prevention of injustice
  - Abuse of process of the court
- Related Cases:
  - [2020] 1 SLR 206
Setting Aside Judgment on Admissions
- Outcome: The court held that setting aside the judgment was not warranted in this case due to the appellant's defaults and delay.
- Category: Procedural
- Sub-Issues:
  - Defaults and delay
  - Merits of the intended defence
  - Prejudice to the other party
- Related Cases:
  - [2008] 4 SLR(R) 907
  - [2007] 3 SLR(R) 673
  - [2020] SGHC 276

8. Remedies Sought

Setting Aside of Judgment

9. Cause of Actions

Breach of Fiduciary Duties

10. Practice Areas

Civil Litigation
Appeals

11. Industries

No industries specified

12. Cited Cases

Case Name	Court	Affirmed	Citation	Jurisdiction	Significance
PNG Sustainable Development Program Ltd v Rex Lam Paki and others	High Court	Yes	[2022] SGHC 188	Singapore	Cited as the grounds of decision for the initial judgment being appealed.
Harmonious Coretrades Pte Ltd v United Integrated Services Pte Ltd	Court of Appeal	Yes	[2020] 1 SLR 206	Singapore	Cited for the principle that the court has inherent power to set aside judgments or orders to prevent injustice.
MCST Plan No 301 v Lee Tat Development Pte Ltd	Court of Appeal	Yes	[2011] 1 SLR 998	Singapore	Cited to support the view that the High Court has inherent power to prevent injustice.
Mercurine Pte Ltd v Canberra Development Pte Ltd	High Court	Yes	[2008] 4 SLR(R) 907	Singapore	Cited for principles regarding setting aside a default judgment.
Su Sh-Hsyu v Wee Yue Chew	High Court	Yes	[2007] 3 SLR(R) 673	Singapore	Cited for principles regarding setting aside a default judgment.
First Property Holdings Pte Ltd v U Myo Nyunt (alias Michael Nyunt)	High Court	Yes	[2020] SGHC 276	Singapore	Cited for the synthesis of principles for setting aside a judgment.
U Myo Nyunt (alias Michael Nyunt) v First Property Holdings Pte Ltd	Court of Appeal	Yes	[2021] 2 SLR 816	Singapore	Cited as the appeal upholding First Property Holdings Pte Ltd v U Myo Nyunt (alias Michael Nyunt) [2020] SGHC 276.
Vallipuram Gireesa Venkit Eswaran v Scanply International Wood Product (S) Pte Ltd (Kim Yew Trading Co, third party)	High Court	Yes	[1995] 2 SLR(R) 507	Singapore	Cited for a similar situation where a party delayed in applying to set aside a judgment.

13. Applicable Rules

Rule Name
Order 92 Rule 4 of the Rules of Court
Order 27 of the Rules of Court (Rev Ed 2014)
Order 13 Rule 8 of the Rules of Court
Order 35 Rule 2 of the Rules of Court

14. Applicable Statutes

Statute Name	Jurisdiction
Rules of Court (Rev Ed 2014)	Singapore

15. Key Terms and Keywords

15.1 Key Terms

Inherent Power
Judgment on Admissions
Setting Aside Judgment
Defaults and Delay
Prevention of Injustice
Back-Door Appeal

15.2 Keywords

judgment
appeal
inherent power
admissions
justice
procedure

17. Areas of Law

Area Name	Relevance Score
Civil Procedure	95
Judgments and Orders	90
Jurisdiction	60
Fiduciary Duties	50
Delay	40

16. Subjects

Civil Procedure
Appeals
Inherent Jurisdiction