Civil Litigation

Acted For The Litigation Representative Of A Wealthy Widow Suffering From Dementia

February 6, 2017

Representation for Widow with Dementia

Acted For The Litigation Representative Of A Wealthy Widow Suffering From Dementia in a highly publicized case in Singapore

The firm acted for the litigation representative of a wealthy widow suffering from dementia. The widow, whose estate is valued at over S$40 million, was the subject of acts of manipulation and undue influence exercised by a Chinese tour guide to procure his appointment as the widow’s donee under a Lasting Power of Attorney. The Chinese tour guide carried out acts of misappropriation of the widow’s monies and other assets and in due course procured a will in which the widow bequeathed her entire estate to the Chinese tour guide.

As part of the legal proceedings, a worldwide Mareva Injunction was obtained against the Chinese tour guide and his wife.

Other successful court applications included applying to the Family Justice Courts to revoke the Lasting Power of Attorney and obtaining a court order under the Mental Capacity Act for a statutory will to be made on behalf of the widow bequeathing the majority of the estate to charity, thereby revoking the previous will.

The statutory will application, which was handled on a pro bono basis, was made under Section 23(1)(i) of the Mental Capacity Act, which grants the Family Court the power to order the making of a statutory will on behalf of a person in accordance with the person’s best interests.

Prior to this case, there had been only been one reported case of a statutory will application in Singapore. Guidance was sought from the equivalent provisions in the UK Mental Capacity Act, English authorities and parliamentary debates. The Chinese tour guide’s appeals to the High Court and Court of Appeal against the statutory will decision were dismissed.

During the course of the protracted legal proceedings against the Chinese tour guide, numerous other court applications were also heard by the Court of Appeal, High Court, State Courts and Family Courts.

On 6 February 2017, judgment was obtained against the Chinese tour guide in the Singapore High Court. The case received widespread media attention. The case was also cited in parliamentary debates during the passing of a Bill to amend the Mental Capacity Act to allow the Court wider scope of powers to revoke or suspend the powers of a donee or deputy and to allow professional donees to be appointed under a Lasting Power of Attorney.

Reported decisions for this case:

  • TCZ v TDA, TBA and TDC [2015] SGFC 63
  • TDA v TCZ, TDB and TDC [2016] 3 SLR 329
  • Chung Khin Chun K (by her deputy Mok Chiu Ling Hedy) v Yang Yin and others [2015] 5 SLR 467 (reversed on appeal)

Chambers & Partners – Asia Pacific 2023

PDLegal LLC is pleased to announce that Managing Partner, Peter Doraisamy, has been recognised and ranked by Chambers & Partners (Asia Pacific 2023 for Shipping: Domestic: Litigation). The following quotes appear with Peter’s ranking: –

“Peter Doraisamy of PDLegal in Singapore is a noted shipping lawyer in the market. He handles a wide range of disputes, including ship grounding, cargo and fraud-related cases” – Chambers & Partners – Asia Pacific 2023

“He is excellent in litigation. He has very good control of the case, collecting the right evidence and putting this into a very successful trial.” – Shipping Litigation Client

Chambers and Partners is the leading independent professional legal research company operating across 200 jurisdictions. Chambers and Partners delivers detailed rankings and insights into the world’s leading lawyers and law firms.

This ranking is a testimony to the expertise and experience of the Firm’s shipping practice and would not be possible without the support of our clients and friends.

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