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Ms Amy Hsu Ann Mei, 44, is the adopted daughter of Madam Hwang Cheng Tsu Hsu who has sued the OCBC Bank for freezing her bank accounts. -- PHOTO: ST/DESMOND LIM
A WOMAN who found herself at the centre of a court battle when a bank refused to release about $8.9 million left to her by her mother will finally get to inherit the money.Ms Amy Hsu, 44, had been bequeathed assets worth more than $12 million by her adoptive mother Nellie Hwang, who died aged 94 in May. The assets included two condominium units and the $8.9 million.
But shortly after the will was made in 2008, Ms Hsu - Madam Hwang's only daughter - got into a legal tussle with OCBC Bank over doubts about her mother's mental competency. It led to the $8.9 million being deposited with the High Court by OCBC. But on Monday, the court granted Ms Hsu the probate to the will.
Ms Amy Hsu Ann Mei (above), 44, is the adopted daughter of Madam Hwang who has sued OCBC Bank for freezing her bank accounts. -- ST PHOTO: DESMOND LIM
THE court fight brought by an elderly woman against OCBC Bank for freezing her account containing $8.9 million came to a close on Wednesday, with Singapore's highest court ruling in favour of the bank.The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal of Madam Hwang Cheng Tsu Hsu's daughter Ms Amy Hsu Ann Mei against a lower court decision in May in favour of the bank.As Madam Hwang died in May, aged 94, Ms Hsu is acting in the suit in her capacity as the executor of her mother's will.
The only change made by the three-judge court was to order that OCBC's legal costs be paid out of Madam Hwang's estate. In May, the High Court had ordered Ms Hsu to personally foot the bill.But that may be a moot point, as OCBC's lawyer later told the court that the bank will not be enforcing the costs order. This effectively means the bank will bear its own legal bills.
Delivering the appeal court's decision after hearing arguments from both sides, Chief Justice Chan Sek Keong said the bank was justified in refusing to accept the instructions purportedly given by Madam Hwang.He said the bank had acted reasonably as it considered at the time that Madam Hwang may not be mentally capable of giving instructions in relation to her bank accounts.The legal tussle arose after Madam Hwang and Ms Hsu went to the bank in May 2008 to open a joint account.
When the application was rejected, Madam Hwang wanted to close all her accounts at the bank. But the bank refused to comply with her request. She sued the bank for damages, claiming that by by locking up her funds, it had deprived her of opportunities to invest in property.In a statement, OCBC said it was 'heartened' by the outcome, which validated the earlier conclusion by the High Court that the bank was not in breach of its contractual duties to Madam Hwang.
