ER KOK YONG (YU GUORONG) & Anor v TAN CHENG CHENG (CHENG QINGQING) (AS CO-ADMINISTRATRIX OF THE ESTATE OF SPENCER TUPPANI) & 2 Ors

[2023] SGHC 38 High Court (General Division) 17 February 2023 HC/S 554/2021

18 cases cited (11 SG, 7 foreign) Cited by 2 cases

Key facts

Court	High Court (General Division)
Decided	17 February 2023
Judge	Mavis Chionh Sze Chyi
Charges / claim	Trusts, Evidence
Counsel	Omni Law LLC, Solitaire LLP, Oommen Mathew, Qua Bi Qi, See Wern Hao, Yeo Lai Hock, Nichol

Source: [2023] SGHC 38, High Court (General Division), decided 17 February 2023 — eLitigation. Updated 10 July 2026.

Catchwords

Trusts — Resulting Trusts Trusts — Constructive Trusts Evidence — Adverse Inferences Trusts — Resulting Trusts — Presumed Resulting Trusts

Practice Areas

Trusts Evidence

Judges (1)

Mavis Chionh Sze Chyi Delivered

Counsel (6)

Omni Law LLC Firm Solitaire LLP Firm Oommen Mathew Counsel for the plaintiff Qua Bi Qi Counsel for the defendant See Wern Hao Counsel for the plaintiff Yeo Lai Hock, Nichol Counsel for the defendant

Parties (5)

Er Kok Yong Plaintiff

Keh Lay Hong (as co-administratrix of the estate of Spencer Tuppani, deceased) Defendant

Lim Soon Hwa Lawrence Plaintiff

Tan Cheng Cheng (as co-administratrix of the estate of Spencer Tuppani, deceased) Defendant

Tan San San (as co-administratrix of the estate of Spencer Tuppani, deceased) Defendant

Case Significance

Er Kok Yong and another v Tan Cheng Cheng (as co-administratrix of the estate of Spencer Tuppani, deceased) and others [2023] SGHC 38 sets out the General Division of the High Court's grounds of decision in Suit No 554 of 2021, delivered on 17 February 2023 by Mavis Chionh Sze Chyi J. Suit 554 was heard together with Suit 438 of 2021, and both concerned assets held in the sole name of Spencer Tuppani, who died on 10 July 2017 after being stabbed by his father-in-law. In Suit 554, the plaintiffs Er Kok Yong (Jason) and Lim Soon Hwa Lawrence each claimed beneficial ownership of a one-third share in the property at 31A Lorong Mambong, Singapore 277689, while in Suit 438 Jason claimed to be the sole beneficial owner of a BMW M6 vehicle. The disputes engaged resulting and constructive trusts and the drawing of adverse inferences.

Summary

Er Kok Yong and Lim Soon Hwa Lawrence brought a claim, heard together with a related suit, asserting beneficial ownership of one-third shares each in a property at 31A Lorong Mambong registered in the sole name of the late Spencer Tuppani, against the co-administratrices of his estate, on constructive and resulting trust grounds. The excerpt records the court's determination of costs, in which it awarded the defendants $135,000 in legal costs plus disbursements; the full substantive disposition is not contained in the trimmed text.

What property was disputed in Er Kok Yong v Tan Cheng Cheng ([2023] SGHC 38)?

The plaintiffs, Er Kok Yong (Jason) and Lim Soon Hwa Lawrence, each claimed a beneficial one-third share in the property at 31A Lorong Mambong, Singapore 277689, held in the sole name of the late Spencer Tuppani. A BMW M6 was disputed in a related suit.

Who was Spencer Tuppani in the [2023] SGHC 38 trust dispute?

Spencer Tuppani held the disputed assets in his sole name and died on 10 July 2017 after being stabbed by his father-in-law. His estate was represented by co-administratrices, including Tan Cheng Cheng, as defendants in Suit No 554 of 2021.