Former oil tycoon Lim Oon Kuin’s grandson has failed to keep a Tanglin condominium out of his aunt’s bankruptcy estate after the High Court rejected his claim that it belonged to his late mother.
Denzel Pak Juin Tern sued the private trustees administering his aunt Lim Huey Ching’s bankruptcy estate, arguing that the Chelsea Gardens unit should instead form part of his mother Lim Huey Yih’s estate.
In a judgment dated 5 November 2026, Judicial Commissioner Low Siew Ling dismissed all his claims. She found that the family’s conduct strongly suggested the lawsuit was an attempt to put the property beyond his aunt’s creditors’ reach.
Claimed Aunt Held Condo for His Mother
The unit at Chelsea Gardens in Walshe Road was bought in 1997 for about S$3.82 million and registered solely in Huey Ching’s name. OK Lim financed its acquisition.
Pak, his mother’s only son and sole beneficiary, brought the lawsuit as administrator of her estate. She died in June 2017.
His case centred on an alleged oral agreement in 2000 between his mother, his aunt and his grandfather.
Under that claimed arrangement, Huey Ching would keep the property in her name but hold it for Huey Yih’s benefit. OK Lim would fund the purchase first, and Huey Yih would repay him when she could afford to.
That distinction mattered: if the trust claim succeeded, the condo would be excluded from the assets available to Huey Ching’s creditors.
Documents Did Not Support the Claimed Agreement
The judge found insufficient evidence of the alleged agreement. Pak had no personal knowledge of the purchase arrangements, and his case relied largely on his aunt’s and grandfather’s accounts.
Neither produced records from the time supporting the claimed trust.
Instead, the judge found that the documents supported Huey Ching’s ownership. She signed the purchase agreement, took the mortgage in her own name and continued arranging property tax and condominium maintenance payments until at least 2024.
Earlier court filings also contradicted the family’s account.
The condo was omitted from the schedule of Huey Yih’s assets filed in 2018. In 2021, Huey Ching declared it as solely hers without mentioning a trust.
She formally changed that position in September 2024, shortly before applying for bankruptcy.
The judge acknowledged emails in which Huey Ching asserted a trust in 2022. However, those came after Hin Leong’s fraud had unravelled, when her assets were already at risk from creditors.
Court Rejected Claimed Repayments
Pak also argued that his mother repaid OK Lim through dividend payments in 2015.
The judge rejected this, finding inconsistencies in the evidence and concluding that the dividends were not reimbursements for the property.
Pak’s alternative claims also failed, including unjust enrichment, which alleged that his aunt had unfairly benefited at his mother’s expense.
The dispute forms part of the litigation following Hin Leong Trading’s collapse. Huey Ching was declared bankrupt on 19 December 2024.
With the trust claims rejected, the court found that she held both legal ownership and the right to benefit from the condo. The judge said costs would be addressed separately.
