NATIXIS, SINGAPORE BRANCH v LIM OON KUIN & 3 Ors

[2023] SGHC 301 High Court (General Division) 24 October 2023 HC/S 188/2021 ( HC/RA 100/2023 ) 26 min read

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

Outcome

Appeal dismissed

the appeal was dismissed “on its own special facts” (at 636).

Source: [2023] SGHC 301, High Court (General Division), decided 24 October 2023. Read directly from the judgment.

Key facts

Court	High Court (General Division)
Decided	24 October 2023
Judge	S Mohan
Charges / claim	Civil Procedure
Outcome	Appeal dismissed
Counsel	Advocatus Law LLP, Allen & Gledhill LLP, Damodara Ong LLC, Wong & Leow LLC, Darius Malachi Lim Wen Hong, Dorcas Seah Yi Hui, Lee Yu Lun Darrell, Lim Dao Yuan Keith, Shalini Rajasegar, Yap Yin Soon

Source: [2023] SGHC 301, High Court (General Division), decided 24 October 2023 — eLitigation. Updated 10 July 2026.

Catchwords

Civil Procedure — Discovery — Compound documents

Practice Areas

Civil Procedure

Judges (1)

S Mohan Delivered

Counsel (10)

Advocatus Law LLP Firm Allen & Gledhill LLP Firm Damodara Ong LLC Firm Wong & Leow LLC Firm Darius Malachi Lim Wen Hong Counsel Defendant Dorcas Seah Yi Hui Counsel Plaintiff Lee Yu Lun Darrell Counsel Defendant Lim Dao Yuan Keith Counsel Defendant Shalini Rajasegar Counsel Defendant Yap Yin Soon Counsel Plaintiff

Parties (5)

Natixis, Singapore Branch Plaintiff UT Singapore Services Pte Ltd Defendant Lim Chee Meng Defendant Lim Huey Ching Defendant Lim Oon Kuin Defendant

Case Significance

Natixis, Singapore Branch v Lim Oon Kuin and others [2023] SGHC 301 is a grounds of decision of S Mohan J in the General Division of the High Court, delivered on 24 October 2023 in Suit No 188 of 2021 (Registrar's Appeal No 100 of 2023). Registrar's Appeal No 100 was brought by the second defendant, Lim Chee Meng, against the Assistant Registrar's orders in Summons No 878 of 2023 requiring him to locate, obtain and disclose certain "Compound Documents" — two "Lonestar" email accounts, an iPhone X and a Huawei phone — including by writing to the Commercial Affairs Department and the liquidators of Hin Leong Trading. Raising when such compound documents fall within a party's possession, custody or power, S Mohan J dismissed the appeal on 24 July 2023 and later gave full grounds.

[2023] SGHC 301 explained

NATIXIS, SINGAPORE BRANCH v LIM OON KUIN & 3 Ors ([2023] SGHC 301) is a Singapore judgment decided by the High Court (General Division) on 24 October 2023. It is categorised under Civil Procedure. 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 301 about?

NATIXIS, SINGAPORE BRANCH v LIM OON KUIN & 3 Ors ([2023] SGHC 301) is a High Court (General Division) decision from 2023. Its published catchwords are “Civil Procedure — Discovery — Compound documents”, 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 301?

Within this corpus, [2023] SGHC 301 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

Natixis, Singapore Branch, brought proceedings against Lim Oon Kuin and three others, and the second defendant Lim Chee Meng appealed against a discovery order requiring him to locate and disclose certain 'Compound Documents', including email accounts and mobile phones. The appeal raised when such documents fall within a party's possession, custody or power, and challenged an ancillary order requiring an explanatory affidavit. The court dismissed the appeal, holding the ancillary order was within its inherent power, and fixed costs of S$10,000 against the second defendant.

What was Natixis, Singapore Branch v Lim Oon Kuin [2023] SGHC 301 about?

It was a discovery appeal before S Mohan J in which the second defendant, Lim Chee Meng, challenged an Assistant Registrar's order requiring him to disclose "Compound Documents" such as email accounts and phones, decided on 24 October 2023.

How did the court rule in [2023] SGHC 301?

S Mohan J dismissed Lim Chee Meng's Registrar's Appeal No 100 of 2023 on 24 July 2023, upholding the disclosure orders, and later gave full grounds addressing when compound documents like email accounts fall within a party's possession, custody or power.