Mak-Levrion Kah Kay Natasha v R Shiamala

Case Significance

Mak-Levrion Kah Kay Natasha (alias Mai Jiaqi Natasha) v R Shiamala [2024] SGHC 207 was decided by Mohamed Faizal JC in the General Division of the High Court on 15 August 2024, in Originating Claim No 241 of 2023, with hearings on 4–5 June and 1 July 2024 and judgment reserved. The claimant, Ms Mak-Levrion Kah Kay Natasha @ Mai Jiaqi Natasha, filed the suit against the defendant, Ms R Shiamala, seeking the return of $525,200, a sum arising from an acknowledgment of debt signed by the defendant, purportedly pursuant to various interest-free loans provided by the claimant to the defendant between 2016 and 2019.

The defendant contended that she took much less money than was being sought, disputed receiving some of the purported funds, and said that in any event the moneys furnished to her were not loans but an infusion of funds as an investment by the claimant in the defendant's business, with either dividends or interest being paid. The judgment recorded that the claimant is an entrepreneur and a director and shareholder of a Singapore-registered company providing consultancy and other services, while the defendant was previously a director and sole shareholder of a Singapore-registered company, Imeta Edu Services Pte Ltd, which appeared to have been struck off sometime in 2021; the parties first became acquainted in 2016. The catchwords concerned civil procedure, pleadings, amendment, and credit and security relating to loans of money, and the Evidence Act and Limitation Act were referenced. The claimant was represented by Arul Chew & Partners, with counsel including Arul Andre Ravindran Saravanapavan and Adrian Kho Ngiat Sun, while the defendant was represented by C Ramesh Law Practice, with counsel Ram Chandra Ramesh.