EQUATION RECYCLING PTE. LTD. v LEADING BIO-ENERGY (S) PTE. LTD.

Q: Which legislation does [2026] SGHC 126 consider?

The judgment refers to Civil Law Act (Cap 43) and Conveyancing and Law of Property Act (Cap 61). The statutes cited are listed in full on this page, each linking to its primary text.

[2026] SGHC 126 High Court (General Division) 15 June 2026 • HC/DCA 23/2025 • 152 min read

108 cases cited (68 SG, 40 foreign)

Outcome

Appeal allowed

I allow the appeal against the DJ’s decision that the appellant was not entitled to the Late Interest on the Oct 2023 Utility Charges.

Source: [2026] SGHC 126, High Court (General Division), decided 15 June 2026. Read directly from the judgment.

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Key facts

Court	High Court (General Division)
Decided	15 June 2026
Judge	Sushil Nair
Charges / claim	Contract, Landlord and Tenant, Restitution, Civil Procedure, Damages
Outcome	Appeal allowed
Counsel	Bih Li & Lee LLP, Sterling Law Corporation, Ng Rui Wen, Sankar S/O Kailasa Thevar Saminathan, Tessa Low Wen Xin, Wang Liansheng

Source: [2026] SGHC 126, High Court (General Division), decided 15 June 2026 — eLitigation. Updated 3 July 2026.

Catchwords

Contract — Contractual terms — Rules of construction Contract — Remedies — Deposits — Functions of deposits Landlord and Tenant — Agreements for leases — Security deposits Contract — Settlement agreements — Compromise of potential disputes Restitution — Unjust enrichment — Failure of basis — Recovery of deposits Civil Procedure — Pleadings — Objections — Whether the rule against penalties must be pleaded Civil Procedure — Appeals — Construction of contract — Whether the court may raise a question of construction on its own accord Damages — Liquidated damages or penalty — Whether a clause providing for the absolute forfeiture of a security deposit amounts to a penalty

Practice Areas

Contract Landlord and Tenant Restitution Civil Procedure Damages

Judges (1)

Sushil Nair Delivered

Counsel (6)

Bih Li & Lee LLP Firm Sterling Law Corporation Firm Ng Rui Wen Counsel Appellant Sankar S/O Kailasa Thevar Saminathan Counsel Respondent Tessa Low Wen Xin Counsel Respondent Wang Liansheng Counsel Appellant

Parties (2)

Equation Recycling Pte Ltd Appellant Leading Bio-Energy (S) Pte Ltd Respondent

Case Significance

In Equation Recycling Pte Ltd v Leading Bio-Energy (S) Pte Ltd [2026] SGHC 126, Sushil Nair JCA decided on 15 June 2026 a District Court Appeal (No 23 of 2025, from District Court Originating Claim No 1343 of 2024) addressing whether a clause providing for the absolute forfeiture of a security deposit under a lease amounts to a penalty, alongside questions of contractual construction, settlement agreements, and unjust enrichment recovery of deposits. The judgment traces the distinct historical origins of the law of penalties and the law of deposits, invokes the precedent Linggi Plantations Ltd v Jagatheesan, and cites 108 authorities in total (68 Singapore, 40 foreign) together with the Civil Law Act and the Conveyancing and Law of Property Act.

[2026] SGHC 126 explained

EQUATION RECYCLING PTE. LTD. v LEADING BIO-ENERGY (S) PTE. LTD. ([2026] SGHC 126) is a Singapore judgment decided by the High Court (General Division) on 15 June 2026. It is categorised under Contract, Landlord and Tenant, Restitution, Civil Procedure, and Damages. It is a recent decision; within this corpus no later judgment has cited it yet. 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 [2026] SGHC 126 about?

EQUATION RECYCLING PTE. LTD. v LEADING BIO-ENERGY (S) PTE. LTD. ([2026] SGHC 126) is a High Court (General Division) decision from 2026. Its published catchwords are “Contract — Contractual terms — Rules of construction”, “Contract — Remedies — Deposits — Functions of deposits”, “Landlord and Tenant — Agreements for leases — Security deposits”, and “Contract — Settlement agreements — Compromise of potential disputes”, which indicate the subject matter the judgment addresses. The full reasoning and orders are in the judgment itself, linked below.

Which legislation does [2026] SGHC 126 consider?

The judgment refers to Civil Law Act (Cap 43) and Conveyancing and Law of Property Act (Cap 61). The statutes cited are listed in full on this page, each linking to its primary text.

What earlier Singapore cases does [2026] SGHC 126 cite?

Among the in-corpus authorities it refers to are [2025] SGHC 168, [2024] SGHC 264, and [2024] SGHC 248. The complete list of cases cited, and of later cases that cite this decision, is shown on this page.

What did the High Court consider in Equation Recycling v Leading Bio-Energy about security deposits ([2026] SGHC 126)?

In District Court Appeal No 23 of 2025, decided 15 June 2026, Sushil Nair JCA considered whether a lease clause providing for the absolute forfeiture of a security deposit amounts to a penalty, alongside questions on contractual construction and unjust enrichment recovery of deposits, citing 108 authorities and two statutes.

Statutes Cited

Civil Law Act (Cap 43)

s 28(4)

Conveyancing and Law of Property Act (Cap 61)

s 18(1)

Cases Cited (108)

SG (11)

[1995] SGHC 72 [2006] SGDC 144 [2011] SGHC 196 [2022] SGHC 248 [2022] SGHC 316 [2023] SGHC 218 [2023] SGHC(A) 30 [2024] SGHC 248 [2024] SGHC 264 [2025] SGDC 250 [2025] SGHC 168

SLR (57)

[1992] 2 SLR(R) 382 [1992] 2 SLR(R) 834 [1996] 3 SLR(R) 244 [1998] 2 SLR(R) 258 [1998] 3 SLR(R) 1028 [1999] 1 SLR(R) 527 [2000] 1 SLR(R) 368 [2000] 3 SLR(R) 594 [2002] 2 SLR(R) 693 [2003] 1 SLR(R) 791 [2005] 2 SLR(R) 425 [2006] 4 SLR(R) 571 [2007] 2 SLR(R) 597 [2007] 3 SLR(R) 537 [2008] 2 SLR(R) 474 [2008] 3 SLR(R) 1029 [2009] 2 SLR(R) 332 [2009] 4 SLR(R) 1101 [2010] 3 SLR 179 [2012] 1 SLR 32 [2012] 1 SLR 447 [2012] 3 SLR 125 [2012] 3 SLR 172 [2012] 4 SLR 1182 [2012] 4 SLR 201 [2012] 4 SLR 231 [2012] 4 SLR 98 [2013] 1 SLR 173 [2013] 4 SLR 193 [2013] 4 SLR 972 [2014] 3 SLR 524 [2015] 5 SLR 1187 [2015] 5 SLR 1422 [2016] 1 SLR 1069 [2016] 2 SLR 118 [2016] 3 SLR 663 [2017] 1 SLR 219 [2018] 1 SLR 170 [2018] 1 SLR 239 [2018] 2 SLR 333 [2018] 3 SLR 534 [2019] 1 SLR 349 [2019] 1 SLR 696 [2020] 1 SLR 606 [2020] 2 SLR 386 [2021] 1 SLR 304 [2021] 1 SLR 631 [2022] 1 SLR 689 [2022] 2 SLR 23 [2023] 1 SLR 922 [2023] 2 SLR 235 [2023] 4 SLR 152 [2024] 1 SLR 690 [2024] 2 SLR 372 [2025] 1 SLR 1020 [2025] 1 SLR 432 [2025] 1 SLR 816

UK (34)

[1892] AC 473 [1905] AC 6 [1906] AC 368 [1910] 1 Ch 176 [1915] AC 79 [1924] 1 Ch 97 [1924] AC 980 [1935] AC 96 [1936] 1 KB 697 [1956] 1 WLR 936 [1962] AC 600 [1966] 1 WLR 1428 [1973] Ch 399 [1974] AC 689 [1980] AC 827 [1981] AC 675 [1987] 2 WLR 179 [1989] 1 WLR 1026 [1991] Ch 114 [1993] AC 573 [1995] 1 WLR 404 [1997] AC 749 [1998] 1 WLR 896 [2001] 2 WLR 735 [2005] EWCA Civ 963 [2008] EWHC 1479 [2010] 3 WLR 911 [2011] 1 WLR 2900 [2015] 2 WLR 1593 [2015] 3 All ER 1082 [2016] AC 1172 [2019] 3 WLR 245 [2023] 2 WLR 269 [2024] EWCA Civ 78

AU (1)

[2005] NSWCA 182

MY (4)

[1972] 1 MLJ 89 [2005] 7 MLJ 536 [2010] 5 MLJ 573 [2020] MLJU 1726

HK (1)

[2005] 2 HKC 663