Normal Singaporeans worry about saving their jobs and providing for the family in times of crisis but there are a bunch of Rich Singaporeans who goes to court to settle just for their REPUTATION and ego.
All these rich folks should get a slap on their face, wasting resources.
Teo Xuanwei
[email protected]
BILLIONAIRE businessman Peter Lim’s (picture) defamation suit against the owners of Raffles Town Club (RTC) has been dismissed, closing the chapter on one of a series of legal spats that have plagued the club since it opened in 2000.
The former remisier had taken Mr Lin Jian Wei and Ms Margaret Tung to court in 2007, alleging that the pair had defamed him in a court document — to woo a group of club members to accept a scheme of repaying claims owed —two years earlier. The document had implied that Mr Lim — who was a consultant to RTC up to April 2001 — was “party to the culpable mismanagement of RTC” and was “primarily responsible” for plunging the club into serious financial difficulties.
But High Court Judge Chan Seng Onn ruled that the “predominant motive” of the new owners then was to “win support” for the scheme and “not to deliberately or maliciously injure the reputation of the plaintiff”, according to the judgment released yesterday.
Although the defendants had, “in a rather devious way”, tried to mislead the creditors through telling “half-truths” and were “economical with the truth”, Justice Chan found that they “had no reason to be spiteful or vindictive” towards Mr Lim.
Under cross-examination during the hearing, Mr Lim had admitted that he did not know the defendants personally, nor had he seen or spoken to them before.
The judge further pointed out that professional independent advisors had helped to prepare and publish the court document and it would be “rather far-fetched” to assume they had conspired to injure Mr Lim’s reputation.
Justice Chan also pinned the blame for RTC’s current financial plight on the defendants, who had “unabashedly and systematically bled the company dry”.
In a statement, Mr Lim said he had cleared his name as the judge agreed that when he left the club, it had more than $200 million for members’ benefit.
“But afterwards, Tung and Lin asset-stripped RTC, deceived members and blamed me,” he added.
The Bukit Timah-based establishment’s legal wrangles are for from over. In an ongoing trial, the club is suing former shareholders Dennis Foo, Lawrence Ang, William Tan, Tan Buck Chye and Mr Lim for $130 million for breaching their fiduciary duties.
The suit arose from the Appellate Court’s decision to award $3,000 to 4,895 members — known as the Raffles5000 — who argued that they had been duped into joining what they thought was an exclusive club for up to 7,000 people. The club eventually signed up 19,000 members.
The mega trial, is scheduled to end on Feb 27.
All these rich folks should get a slap on their face, wasting resources.
Teo Xuanwei
[email protected]
BILLIONAIRE businessman Peter Lim’s (picture) defamation suit against the owners of Raffles Town Club (RTC) has been dismissed, closing the chapter on one of a series of legal spats that have plagued the club since it opened in 2000.
The former remisier had taken Mr Lin Jian Wei and Ms Margaret Tung to court in 2007, alleging that the pair had defamed him in a court document — to woo a group of club members to accept a scheme of repaying claims owed —two years earlier. The document had implied that Mr Lim — who was a consultant to RTC up to April 2001 — was “party to the culpable mismanagement of RTC” and was “primarily responsible” for plunging the club into serious financial difficulties.
But High Court Judge Chan Seng Onn ruled that the “predominant motive” of the new owners then was to “win support” for the scheme and “not to deliberately or maliciously injure the reputation of the plaintiff”, according to the judgment released yesterday.
Although the defendants had, “in a rather devious way”, tried to mislead the creditors through telling “half-truths” and were “economical with the truth”, Justice Chan found that they “had no reason to be spiteful or vindictive” towards Mr Lim.
Under cross-examination during the hearing, Mr Lim had admitted that he did not know the defendants personally, nor had he seen or spoken to them before.
The judge further pointed out that professional independent advisors had helped to prepare and publish the court document and it would be “rather far-fetched” to assume they had conspired to injure Mr Lim’s reputation.
Justice Chan also pinned the blame for RTC’s current financial plight on the defendants, who had “unabashedly and systematically bled the company dry”.
In a statement, Mr Lim said he had cleared his name as the judge agreed that when he left the club, it had more than $200 million for members’ benefit.
“But afterwards, Tung and Lin asset-stripped RTC, deceived members and blamed me,” he added.
The Bukit Timah-based establishment’s legal wrangles are for from over. In an ongoing trial, the club is suing former shareholders Dennis Foo, Lawrence Ang, William Tan, Tan Buck Chye and Mr Lim for $130 million for breaching their fiduciary duties.
The suit arose from the Appellate Court’s decision to award $3,000 to 4,895 members — known as the Raffles5000 — who argued that they had been duped into joining what they thought was an exclusive club for up to 7,000 people. The club eventually signed up 19,000 members.
The mega trial, is scheduled to end on Feb 27.
