HUA TIAN ENGINEERING PTE. LTD. v WAN SERN METAL INDUSTRIES PTE LTD

[2023] SGHC 46 High Court (General Division) 27 February 2023 HC/OA 312/2022 ( HC/RA 353/2022 )

7 cases cited

Key facts

Court	High Court (General Division)
Decided	27 February 2023
Judge	Kwek Mean Luck
Charges / claim	Building and Construction Law
Counsel	Cairnhill Law LLC, Chan Neo LLP, Ashok Kumar Rai, Daniel Tay, Lee Yun Long, Yeo Wei Ying Jolyn

Source: [2023] SGHC 46, High Court (General Division), decided 27 February 2023 — eLitigation. Updated 10 July 2026.

Catchwords

Building and Construction Law — Dispute resolution — Adjudication — Stay of enforcement of adjudication determination

Practice Areas

Building and Construction Law

Judges (1)

Kwek Mean Luck Delivered

Counsel (6)

Cairnhill Law LLC Firm Chan Neo LLP Firm Ashok Kumar Rai Counsel for the appellant

Daniel Tay Counsel for the respondent

Lee Yun Long Counsel for the respondent Yeo Wei Ying Jolyn Counsel for the appellant

Parties (2)

Hua Tian Engineering Pte Ltd Respondent Wan Sern Metal Industries Pte Ltd Appellant

Case Significance

Decided 27 February 2023 by Kwek Mean Luck J in the General Division of the High Court, this was Wan Sern Metal Industries Pte Ltd's appeal (Registrar's Appeal No 353 of 2022, in Originating Application No 312 of 2022) against the Assistant Registrar's dismissal of its application to stay enforcement of an adjudication determination awarded in favour of Hua Tian Engineering Pte. Ltd. under the Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act. The applicable principles were not disputed: the court referred to the "W Y Steel test" from W Y Steel Construction Pte Ltd v Osko Pte Ltd [2013] 3 SLR 380, under which a stay may ordinarily be justified where there is clear and objective evidence of the successful claimant's actual present insolvency. Wan Sern was represented by Cairnhill Law LLC and Hua Tian by Chan Neo LLP.

Summary

Wan Sern Metal Industries Pte Ltd appealed against an Assistant Registrar's refusal to stay enforcement of an adjudication determination made in favour of Hua Tian Engineering Pte Ltd under the Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act. The court applied the W Y Steel test and also considered a novel argument that enforcement would push Wan Sern into liquidation. Kwek Mean Luck J found no clear evidence of the claimant's insolvency or unrecoverability, dismissed the appeal, and awarded costs of $8,000 to Hua Tian.

What was the dispute in Wan Sern Metal Industries v Hua Tian Engineering [2023] SGHC 46?

Wan Sern Metal Industries appealed the Assistant Registrar's refusal to stay enforcement of an adjudication determination awarded to Hua Tian Engineering under the Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act. Kwek Mean Luck J heard the Registrar's Appeal on 18 January 2023.

What legal test governs a stay of enforcement of an adjudication determination ([2023] SGHC 46)?

The judgment applied the W Y Steel test from W Y Steel Construction Pte Ltd v Osko Pte Ltd [2013] 3 SLR 380, under which a stay may ordinarily be justified where there is clear and objective evidence of the successful claimant's actual present insolvency.