LIANG CHI AIR-CONDITION PTE LTD v ATP ENGINEERING PTE LTD
Catchwords
Practice Areas
Judges (1)
Case Significance
In Liang Chi Air-Condition Pte Ltd v ATP Engineering Pte Ltd [2026] SGMC 47, decided on 7 April 2026, Deputy Registrar Evans Ng of the Magistrate's Court assessed damages arising from a road traffic accident in which ATP Engineering's driver damaged the claimant's vehicle. DR Ng granted the claims for consequential losses including the cost of renting a substitute vehicle, but used the grounds of decision as a vehicle to remind practitioners of the documentary requirements that are routinely overlooked in such assessments — namely the obligation to state the make, model, type, engine capacity, and age of the damaged vehicle in the affidavit of evidence-in-chief when claiming rental or loss-of-use damages.
Summary
Liang Chi Air-Condition Pte Ltd claimed damages against ATP Engineering Pte Ltd for loss suffered when the defendant's driver damaged the claimant's vehicle in a road traffic accident, including the cost of renting a substitute vehicle. The Deputy Registrar granted the claims for consequential losses but used the judgment primarily to remind practitioners of the evidentiary requirements in vehicle damage claims, namely that affidavits of evidence-in-chief must state the vehicle's make, model, type, engine capacity, age, ordinary use, and actual rental costs incurred. The judgment noted that lawyers who omit such details risk their clients receiving only nominal damages.
What must a claimant state in their affidavit when claiming substitute-vehicle rental costs after a road accident in Singapore?
In Liang Chi Air-Condition Pte Ltd v ATP Engineering Pte Ltd [2026] SGMC 47, Deputy Registrar Evans Ng held that a claimant must expressly set out the damaged vehicle's make, model, type, engine capacity, and age in their affidavit of evidence-in-chief before the court will award substitute-vehicle rental or loss-of-use damages.
Judgment
Read the full judgment on the official Singapore Courts portal.
Read on eLitigationSource: eLitigation ([2026] SGMC 47)