KHOO JEE CHEK v LIM BENG TIONG

[2023] SGHC 233 High Court (General Division) 23 August 2023 HC/S 819/2021 58 min read

8 cases cited (6 SG, 2 foreign) Cited by 2 cases

Key facts

Court	High Court (General Division)
Decided	23 August 2023
Judge	Audrey Lim
Charges / claim	Trusts
Counsel	Nakoorsha Law Corporation, Shook Lin & Bok LLP, Charles Lim Chong Guang, Liew Zhi Hao, Michelle Tang Hui Ming, Nakoorsha bin Abdul Kadir, Rasveen Kaur

Source: [2023] SGHC 233, High Court (General Division), decided 23 August 2023 — eLitigation. Updated 10 July 2026.

Catchwords

Trusts — Constructive trusts Trusts — Resulting trusts — Presumed resulting trusts — Whether monetary contributions towards ancillary costs of purchasing property should be taken into account in determining parties’ respective beneficial shares in that property

Practice Areas

Trusts

Judges (1)

Audrey Lim Delivered

Counsel (7)

Nakoorsha Law Corporation Firm Shook Lin & Bok LLP Firm Charles Lim Chong Guang Counsel Defendant Liew Zhi Hao Counsel Defendant Michelle Tang Hui Ming Counsel Plaintiff Nakoorsha bin Abdul Kadir Counsel Plaintiff Rasveen Kaur Counsel Plaintiff

Parties (2)

Khoo Jee Chek Plaintiff Lim Beng Tiong Defendant

Case Significance

Khoo Jee Chek v Lim Beng Tiong [2023] SGHC 233 is a reserved judgment of Audrey Lim J in the General Division of the High Court, delivered on 23 August 2023 in Suit No 819 of 2021. The plaintiff, Mr Khoo Jee Chek, and the defendant, Mr Lim Beng Tiong, are registered joint tenants of a two-storey commercial property in a development called "T-Space". Mr Khoo claims the parties hold the property beneficially in equal shares, while Mr Lim claims to be the sole beneficial owner or, alternatively, to beneficially own 99% with only 1% held by Mr Khoo. The judgment addresses constructive and presumed resulting trusts, including whether monetary contributions towards the ancillary costs of purchasing property should be taken into account in determining the parties' respective beneficial shares.

[2023] SGHC 233 explained

KHOO JEE CHEK v LIM BENG TIONG ([2023] SGHC 233) is a Singapore judgment decided by the High Court (General Division) on 23 August 2023. It is categorised under Trusts. Within this corpus it has since been cited by 2 other reported Singapore judgments, 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 233 about?

KHOO JEE CHEK v LIM BENG TIONG ([2023] SGHC 233) is a High Court (General Division) decision from 2023. Its published catchwords are “Trusts — Constructive trusts” and “Trusts — Resulting trusts — Presumed resulting trusts — Whether monetary contributions towards ancillary costs of purchasing property should be taken into account in determining parties’ respective beneficial shares in that property”, which indicate the subject matter the judgment addresses. The full reasoning and orders are in the judgment itself, linked below.

How influential is [2023] SGHC 233?

Within this corpus, [2023] SGHC 233 has been cited by 2 later reported Singapore judgments. 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

Khoo Jee Chek and Lim Beng Tiong were registered joint tenants of a two-storey commercial property in the T-Space development, and Khoo claimed they held it beneficially in equal shares while Lim claimed sole or 99% ownership. The dispute concerned their respective beneficial interests under a presumed resulting trust based on their monetary contributions. Applying the resulting trust presumption, the court held Khoo held 38.38% and Lim 61.62% of the beneficial interest, and indicated a clean break was appropriate.

What was Khoo Jee Chek v Lim Beng Tiong [2023] SGHC 233 about?

It was a High Court dispute before Audrey Lim J between joint tenants Khoo Jee Chek and Lim Beng Tiong over the beneficial ownership of a two-storey commercial property in the "T-Space" development, turning on resulting and constructive trusts, decided on 23 August 2023.

What did each party claim in [2023] SGHC 233?

Khoo Jee Chek claimed the parties held the T-Space property beneficially in equal shares, while Lim Beng Tiong claimed to be the sole beneficial owner or, alternatively, to hold a 99% beneficial share with only 1% owned by Khoo.