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LEGAL TUSSLE OVER DOG
Mum 'caught unwittingly' in court battle
Named in suit against son, she claims she was in the dark when she kept terrier
By K. C. Vijayan, Law Correspondent
Ms Connie Tan with Sasha after winning custody of the dog. A judge extended the injunction last month, allowing Ms Tan to keep the dog with her pending the outcome of the case. -- ST FILE PHOTO
A DOCTOR has claimed that she has been unwittingly caught in a court tussle between her son and his business executive former girlfriend over a dog.
Dr Lee Seow Lang, a paediatrician of 35 years, was named as the second defendant in a suit filed by her son's former girlfriend in the High Court in March.
In court papers filed in October, Dr Lee said she did not know what the spat between her son and the woman was about when she took custody of the terrier.
Her son, Dr Tan Kok Chye, 36, and his then girlfriend, Ms Connie Tan, 29, had kept the dog, Sasha, when they were living in the United States.
They had adopted the terrier in August 2008, but broke up shortly after.
Ms Tan returned to Singapore in November that year with Sasha, and registered herself as its owner with the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority. She looked after it at her flat in Sembawang.
However, in March this year, Sasha disappeared from the flat and surfaced at Dr Lee's apartment in Cavenagh Road.
In May, the court awarded custody of the dog to Ms Tan till the dispute was resolved. It is now back in the Sembawang flat.
Claiming to be surprised at a legal notice sent on behalf of Ms Tan in March, Dr Lee noted that Ms Tan had frequently visited her place, and had at times stayed overnight and eaten meals with the family, among other things.
She added that her son had later explained to her that he was its legal owner and had paid for the pet in the US, adding that the dog needed to be brought back to the US to fulfil the terms of the adoption contract.
He claimed that only a US resident like himself was allowed to adopt a pet.
But her act of keeping the dog in the house while arrangements were being made for its repatriation had resulted in her being made a defendant in the case, said Dr Lee.
She also claimed that she was made a party to the case because Ms Tan was initially unwilling to serve court papers on her son.
The court action had strained the very good relationship her son had with the family, she added.
In the 21-page court document filed through her lawyer Leslie Netto, Dr Lee, in giving her side of the story, said, among other things, that the stress had affected her health and work, as this is the first time she has ever been sued in all her 70-plus years.
At a hearing last month, Justice Chan Seng Onn extended the injunction, allowing Ms Tan to keep the dog, pending the outcome of the case in a full hearing that would happen in due course.
Lawyer R.S. Bajwa, who is acting for Ms Tan, said in a submission then that Dr Lee was named a party in the case as she had custody of the dog and had refused to give up possession of it despite being served with a letter of demand.
A High Court pre-trial conference is due early next month.
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Mum 'caught unwittingly' in court battle
Named in suit against son, she claims she was in the dark when she kept terrier
By K. C. Vijayan, Law Correspondent
Ms Connie Tan with Sasha after winning custody of the dog. A judge extended the injunction last month, allowing Ms Tan to keep the dog with her pending the outcome of the case. -- ST FILE PHOTO
A DOCTOR has claimed that she has been unwittingly caught in a court tussle between her son and his business executive former girlfriend over a dog.
Dr Lee Seow Lang, a paediatrician of 35 years, was named as the second defendant in a suit filed by her son's former girlfriend in the High Court in March.
In court papers filed in October, Dr Lee said she did not know what the spat between her son and the woman was about when she took custody of the terrier.
Her son, Dr Tan Kok Chye, 36, and his then girlfriend, Ms Connie Tan, 29, had kept the dog, Sasha, when they were living in the United States.
They had adopted the terrier in August 2008, but broke up shortly after.
Ms Tan returned to Singapore in November that year with Sasha, and registered herself as its owner with the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority. She looked after it at her flat in Sembawang.
However, in March this year, Sasha disappeared from the flat and surfaced at Dr Lee's apartment in Cavenagh Road.
In May, the court awarded custody of the dog to Ms Tan till the dispute was resolved. It is now back in the Sembawang flat.
Claiming to be surprised at a legal notice sent on behalf of Ms Tan in March, Dr Lee noted that Ms Tan had frequently visited her place, and had at times stayed overnight and eaten meals with the family, among other things.
She added that her son had later explained to her that he was its legal owner and had paid for the pet in the US, adding that the dog needed to be brought back to the US to fulfil the terms of the adoption contract.
He claimed that only a US resident like himself was allowed to adopt a pet.
But her act of keeping the dog in the house while arrangements were being made for its repatriation had resulted in her being made a defendant in the case, said Dr Lee.
She also claimed that she was made a party to the case because Ms Tan was initially unwilling to serve court papers on her son.
The court action had strained the very good relationship her son had with the family, she added.
In the 21-page court document filed through her lawyer Leslie Netto, Dr Lee, in giving her side of the story, said, among other things, that the stress had affected her health and work, as this is the first time she has ever been sued in all her 70-plus years.
At a hearing last month, Justice Chan Seng Onn extended the injunction, allowing Ms Tan to keep the dog, pending the outcome of the case in a full hearing that would happen in due course.
Lawyer R.S. Bajwa, who is acting for Ms Tan, said in a submission then that Dr Lee was named a party in the case as she had custody of the dog and had refused to give up possession of it despite being served with a letter of demand.
A High Court pre-trial conference is due early next month.
[email protected]
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