HO CHEE KIAN v HO KWEK SIN

[2023] SGHC 192 High Court (General Division) 18 July 2023 HC/OC 112/2023 ( HC/SUM 1447/2023 ) 40 min read

30 cases cited (25 SG, 5 foreign) Cited by 1 case

Key facts

Court	High Court (General Division)
Decided	18 July 2023
Judge	Goh Yihan
Charges / claim	Contract, Civil Procedure, Damages
Counsel	D'Bi An LLC, Tan Lee & Partners, Chuah Hui Fen Christine, Luke Lee Wen Loong, Yao Qinzhe

Source: [2023] SGHC 192, High Court (General Division), decided 18 July 2023 — eLitigation. Updated 10 July 2026.

Catchwords

Contract — Discharge — Breach Civil Procedure — Summary judgment Damages — Measure of damages — Contract

Practice Areas

Contract Civil Procedure Damages

Judges (1)

Goh Yihan Delivered

Counsel (5)

D'Bi An LLC Firm Tan Lee & Partners Firm Chuah Hui Fen Christine Counsel Claimant Luke Lee Wen Loong Counsel Defendant Yao Qinzhe Counsel Claimant

Parties (2)

Ho Chee Kian Claimant Ho Kwek Sin Defendant

Case Significance

Ho Chee Kian v Ho Kwek Sin [2023] SGHC 192 is a reserved judgment of Goh Yihan JC in the General Division of the High Court, delivered on 18 July 2023 in Originating Claim No 112 of 2023 (Summons No 1447 of 2023). The claimant applied for summary judgment against the defendant under O 9 r 17 of the Rules of Court 2021, seeking a declaration that the defendant breached cl 2(b) of a Settlement Agreement, an order for specific performance, and in the alternative damages of $308,038.34 or an amount to be assessed. The court allowed the application and entered summary judgment in favour of the claimant with damages to be assessed by the Registrar, holding that a valid and binding agreement had been entered into, the claimant had performed his side, and the defendant had provided no good reason for his non-performance.

[2023] SGHC 192 explained

HO CHEE KIAN v HO KWEK SIN ([2023] SGHC 192) is a Singapore judgment decided by the High Court (General Division) on 18 July 2023. It is categorised under Contract, Civil Procedure, and Damages. Within this corpus it has since been cited by 1 other reported Singapore judgment, a measure of how often later decisions have referred to it. This page summarises what the reported decision covers and links the primary sources — the full judgment, the statutes it cites, and the other cases it engages with — so the decision can be read in context. It is reference information, not legal advice, and it does not state the outcome or any holding beyond what the official judgment records.

What is [2023] SGHC 192 about?

HO CHEE KIAN v HO KWEK SIN ([2023] SGHC 192) is a High Court (General Division) decision from 2023. Its published catchwords are “Contract — Discharge — Breach”, “Civil Procedure — Summary judgment”, and “Damages — Measure of damages — Contract”, which indicate the subject matter the judgment addresses. The full reasoning and orders are in the judgment itself, linked below.

What earlier Singapore cases does [2023] SGHC 192 cite?

Among the in-corpus authorities it refers to are [2023] SGHC 164. The complete list of cases cited, and of later cases that cite this decision, is shown on this page.

How influential is [2023] SGHC 192?

Within this corpus, [2023] SGHC 192 has been cited by 1 later reported Singapore judgment. That count reflects references from other decisions held in this corpus only and is a conservative lower bound on how often the case has actually been cited.

Summary

Ho Chee Kian sought summary judgment against his uncle Ho Kwek Sin for breach of clause 2(b) of a Settlement Agreement concerning the estate of a deceased relative, seeking specific performance or damages of $308,038.34. The High Court entered summary judgment in the claimant's favour, holding the defendant had no good reason for non-performance, but declined to order specific performance or fix the damages sum, directing that damages be assessed by the Registrar.

What was Ho Chee Kian v Ho Kwek Sin [2023] SGHC 192 about?

It was a summary judgment application before Goh Yihan JC, decided on 18 July 2023, under O 9 r 17 of the Rules of Court 2021, over the defendant's alleged breach of cl 2(b) of a Settlement Agreement between Ho Chee Kian and Ho Kwek Sin.

What did the court decide in [2023] SGHC 192?

The court allowed the claimant's application and entered summary judgment with damages to be assessed by the Registrar, holding that a valid agreement existed, the claimant performed, and the defendant gave no good reason for non-performance; damages of $308,038.34 had been sought in the alternative.

Cases Cited (30)

SG (4)

[2006] SGHC 116 [2019] SGCA 51 [2022] SGHC 260 [2023] SGHC 164

SLR (21)

[1996] 3 SLR(R) 760 [1997] 3 SLR(R) 906 [1998] 1 SLR(R) 53 [1998] 3 SLR(R) 447 [2000] 3 SLR(R) 177 [2007] 3 SLR(R) 537 [2007] 4 SLR(R) 413 [2008] 1 SLR(R) 663 [2008] 4 SLR(R) 272 [2012] 1 SLR 32 [2014] 2 SLR 123 [2014] 2 SLR 1342 [2014] 3 SLR 857 [2015] 1 SLR 325 [2015] 5 SLR 1187 [2016] 5 SLR 1183 [2017] 2 SLR 12 [2018] 2 SLR 199 [2018] 4 SLR 882 [2021] 1 SLR 631 [2022] 1 SLR 302

UK (5)

[1942] 1 AC 356 [1949] 1 KB 474 [1980] 1 AC 827 [1994] 1 AC 85 [1996] AC 800