NW CORPORATION PTE. LTD. v HK PETROLEUM ENTERPRISES COOPERATION LIMITED

[2023] SGHCR 22 High Court Registrar 27 December 2023 HC/OC 295/2023 ( HC/SUM 2812/2023 )

10 cases cited (9 SG, 1 foreign)

Key facts

Court	High Court Registrar
Decided	27 December 2023
Judge	Perry Peh
Charges / claim	Civil Procedure
Counsel	KSCGP Juris LLP, Oon & Bazul LLP, Foo Jong Han Rey, Kirsten Siow, Levin Lin

Source: [2023] SGHCR 22, High Court Registrar, decided 27 December 2023 — eLitigation. Updated 10 July 2026.

Catchwords

Civil Procedure — Service — Service out of Singapore Civil Procedure — Judgments and orders — Setting aside

Practice Areas

Civil Procedure

Judges (1)

Perry Peh Delivered

Counsel (5)

KSCGP Juris LLP Firm Oon & Bazul LLP Firm

Foo Jong Han Rey Counsel for the claimant

Kirsten Siow Counsel for the defendant

Levin Lin Counsel for the defendant

Parties (2)

HK Petroleum Enterprises Cooperation Ltd Defendant

NW Corp Pte Ltd Claimant

Case Significance

NW Corp Pte Ltd v HK Petroleum Enterprises Cooperation Ltd [2023] SGHCR 22 is a grounds of decision of Assistant Registrar Perry Peh in the General Division of the High Court, delivered on 27 December 2023 in Originating Claim No 295 of 2023. The defendant, a Hong Kong-incorporated company, applied in Summons No 2812 of 2023 to set aside a default judgment obtained after it failed to file a notice of intention to contest under the Rules of Court 2021. A key issue was whether the claimant could serve the originating process out of Singapore by registered post without the court's approval, on the basis that a written contract permitted service out under O 8 r 1(3) of the Rules of Court 2021, and what such a contractual provision must contain.

Summary

HK Petroleum Enterprises Cooperation Ltd, a Hong Kong company, applied to set aside a default judgment obtained by NW Corp Pte Ltd after being served by registered post without court approval for service out of Singapore. The case turned on whether a contract clause permitted such service under Order 8 of the Rules of Court 2021. The Assistant Registrar set aside the regular "Naptha" judgment on the merits of the defence, found the "Gasoil" judgment irregular, and made no order as to costs.

What was NW Corp v HK Petroleum [2023] SGHCR 22 about?

It was an application by a Hong Kong-incorporated defendant before Assistant Registrar Perry Peh to set aside a default judgment, raising whether the claimant could serve process out of Singapore without court approval, decided on 27 December 2023.

What service-out question did [2023] SGHCR 22 consider?

The decision examined the requirements of a contract permitting service out of Singapore under O 8 r 1(3) of the Rules of Court 2021, which would dispense with the need for the court's approval to serve process abroad.