<TABLE id=msgUN cellSpacing=3 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD id=msgUNsubj vAlign=top>
Coffeeshop Chit Chat - Angmo FT helped 2 sons escape NS!</TD><TD id=msgunetc noWrap align=right>
Subscribe </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><TABLE class=msgtable cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="96%"><TBODY><TR><TD class=msg vAlign=top><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR class=msghead><TD class=msgbfr1 width="1%"> </TD><TD><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 border=0><TBODY><TR class=msghead><TD class=msgF noWrap align=right width="1%">From: </TD><TD class=msgFname noWrap width="68%">kojakbt22 <NOBR>
</NOBR> </TD><TD class=msgDate noWrap align=right width="30%">3:37 am </TD></TR><TR class=msghead><TD class=msgT noWrap align=right width="1%" height=20>To: </TD><TD class=msgTname noWrap width="68%">ALL <NOBR></NOBR></TD><TD class=msgNum noWrap align=right> (1 of 3) </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR><TR><TD class=msgleft width="1%" rowSpan=4> </TD><TD class=wintiny noWrap align=right>12529.1 </TD></TR><TR><TD height=8></TD></TR><TR><TD class=msgtxt><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>Wife of late tycoon loses bid for half his $16m estate
</TD></TR><TR><TD><!-- headline one : end --></TD></TR><TR><TD><!-- Author --></TD></TR><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By K. C. Vijayan, Law Correspondent
</TD></TR><TR><TD><!-- show image if available --></TD></TR><TR vAlign=bottom><TD width=330>
</TD><TD width=10>
</TD><TD vAlign=bottom>
Mr Pinder, former chairman of conglomerate giant Sime Darby, became a Singaporean in 1972.
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->
WHEN former Sime Darby chairman Dennis William Pinder died in 2004, he left the bulk of his $16 million estate to his two sons from his first wife.
But his second wife Lillian Pinder, 72, contested the will, arguing that as her husband was a resident in England, his estate should be subject to English laws, which could have awarded a widow half of her dead husband's estate.
But Mr Pinder's will executor, London lawyer Roger Peters, countered that he had been living in Singapore, which meant his estate should be subject to local probate laws instead.
In a judgment released on Monday, High Court judge Andrew Ang threw out the widow's suit, saying Mr Pinder had strong ties in Singapore and appeared to want to continue to work and live here.
Mr Pinder, an accountant by training, came to Singapore in 1953 and rose to head conglomerate giant Sime Darby in 1965, turning it into one of the most successful companies then known.
But he was sacked eight years later after being charged with criminal breach of trust. In the high-profile court case that followed, he was jailed for 18 months.
After his release from prison, Mr Pinder formed a consortium to start Jason's Supermarket. Several years later, he sold his interest in the enterprise and went on to serve as the long-time financial consultant to business magnate Lee Thor Seng.
In February 2003, he left for London for a holiday, fell ill there and died 11 months later, at the age of 80, without returning to Singapore.
His wife, through Senior Counsel Deborah Barker, pointed out that he had always wanted to retire to England and reside there until his death.
Ms Barker also pointed out that Mr Pinder even helped his two sons to leave Singapore so they did not have to serve national service. This showed he had no intention of remaining here, she said.
But lawyers Jason Lim and Goh Kok Yeow, who represented Mr Peters, countered that Mr Pinder had become a Singaporean as early as 1972.
Justice Ang noted that Singapore citizenship is usually granted only to applicants who show that they intend to reside here permanently.
The lawyers produced several letters written by Mr Pinder to his banker and others which showed that he viewed Singapore as his home.
They also produced evidence to show that he had to stay in England for some 11 months up to his death because of his illness and not because he intended to make England his permanent home then.
Mr Pinder's grown-up sons, Paul and Charles, even testified via video- conference at the hearing last September that their father's heart was in Singapore.
Justice Ang noted that Mr Pinder was quoted as saying in an article in The Straits Times in October 1976 after his release from prison: 'I'm a Singapore citizen and I have no intention of leaving.'
But Mrs Pinder pointed out that, among other things, they were married in England in July 1972, he had relatives there, and kept British credit cards and accounts even till the time of his death.
But the judge discounted the significance of these. Justice Ang said that although Mr Pinder intended to retire to England later in his life, there was no evidence that he actually did so at the time he died, and he was in fact looking forward to returning and continuing to work here. The judge said Mr Pinder had lived in Singapore for almost 45 years and whatever strong feelings he had for England 'were not strong enough to cause him to give up the life he had chosen' to live here.
</TD></TR><TR><TD> </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
</TD></TR><TR><TD><!-- headline one : end --></TD></TR><TR><TD><!-- Author --></TD></TR><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By K. C. Vijayan, Law Correspondent
</TD></TR><TR><TD><!-- show image if available --></TD></TR><TR vAlign=bottom><TD width=330>
</TD><TD width=10>
Mr Pinder, former chairman of conglomerate giant Sime Darby, became a Singaporean in 1972.
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->
WHEN former Sime Darby chairman Dennis William Pinder died in 2004, he left the bulk of his $16 million estate to his two sons from his first wife.
But his second wife Lillian Pinder, 72, contested the will, arguing that as her husband was a resident in England, his estate should be subject to English laws, which could have awarded a widow half of her dead husband's estate.
But Mr Pinder's will executor, London lawyer Roger Peters, countered that he had been living in Singapore, which meant his estate should be subject to local probate laws instead.
In a judgment released on Monday, High Court judge Andrew Ang threw out the widow's suit, saying Mr Pinder had strong ties in Singapore and appeared to want to continue to work and live here.
Mr Pinder, an accountant by training, came to Singapore in 1953 and rose to head conglomerate giant Sime Darby in 1965, turning it into one of the most successful companies then known.
But he was sacked eight years later after being charged with criminal breach of trust. In the high-profile court case that followed, he was jailed for 18 months.
After his release from prison, Mr Pinder formed a consortium to start Jason's Supermarket. Several years later, he sold his interest in the enterprise and went on to serve as the long-time financial consultant to business magnate Lee Thor Seng.
In February 2003, he left for London for a holiday, fell ill there and died 11 months later, at the age of 80, without returning to Singapore.
His wife, through Senior Counsel Deborah Barker, pointed out that he had always wanted to retire to England and reside there until his death.
Ms Barker also pointed out that Mr Pinder even helped his two sons to leave Singapore so they did not have to serve national service. This showed he had no intention of remaining here, she said.
But lawyers Jason Lim and Goh Kok Yeow, who represented Mr Peters, countered that Mr Pinder had become a Singaporean as early as 1972.
Justice Ang noted that Singapore citizenship is usually granted only to applicants who show that they intend to reside here permanently.
The lawyers produced several letters written by Mr Pinder to his banker and others which showed that he viewed Singapore as his home.
They also produced evidence to show that he had to stay in England for some 11 months up to his death because of his illness and not because he intended to make England his permanent home then.
Mr Pinder's grown-up sons, Paul and Charles, even testified via video- conference at the hearing last September that their father's heart was in Singapore.
Justice Ang noted that Mr Pinder was quoted as saying in an article in The Straits Times in October 1976 after his release from prison: 'I'm a Singapore citizen and I have no intention of leaving.'
But Mrs Pinder pointed out that, among other things, they were married in England in July 1972, he had relatives there, and kept British credit cards and accounts even till the time of his death.
But the judge discounted the significance of these. Justice Ang said that although Mr Pinder intended to retire to England later in his life, there was no evidence that he actually did so at the time he died, and he was in fact looking forward to returning and continuing to work here. The judge said Mr Pinder had lived in Singapore for almost 45 years and whatever strong feelings he had for England 'were not strong enough to cause him to give up the life he had chosen' to live here.
</TD></TR><TR><TD> </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
