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Straits Times
3 days ago
- Business
- Straits Times
Granddaughter of Hin Leong founder O.K. Lim fails to keep 3 insurance policies from creditors' reach
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox The three policies are part of a set of eight insurance policies with AIA that Mr Lim Chee Meng had taken out when Ms Lim was a minor. SINGAPORE – The daughter of bankrupt former Hin Leong Trading director Lim Chee Meng failed in a bid to shield three AIA Singapore insurance policies worth over half a million dollars from being part of Mr Lim's bankruptcy estate. Ms Michelle Lim Yan Yi, the granddaughter of Hin Leong founder Lim Oon Kuin sought a High Court declaration that the three policies, worth over $521,000, should be ring-fenced from creditors' reach because they were held on trust for her benefit by her father, who was declared bankrupt in December 2024. The three policies are part of a set of eight insurance policies with AIA that Mr Lim Chee Meng had taken out when Ms Lim was a minor, under which he was the policy owner and she was the named insured. But High Court Judicial Commissioner Mohamed Faizal found there was a lack of evidence of an intention on Mr Lim Chee Meng's part, prior to his bankruptcy, to create a trust over the three policies for the sole benefit of his daughter. He found that the documentary evidence relied on by Ms Lim were 'either self-interested representations' or 'mere assertions'. One document she relied on was an October 2021 letter from Mr Lim Chee Meng to ring-fence the eight policies from other assets that were subjected to a freezing order in a US$3.5 billion civil suit. Another document adduced was an AIA letter dated October 2021 signed by a purported personal wealth manager, who asserted that 'the eight policies belong to (Ms Lim), and are being held by Mr Lim Chee Meng on trust for (Ms Lim)'. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. 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But the judge found 'the letter was bare and bereft of details and merely asserted, without more, that the eight policies were held on trust.' Other documents Ms Lim relied on included an e-mail dated March 10, 2025, from Mr Lim Chee Meng to the trustees and part of his affidavit filed in 2024 for his bankruptcy proceedings, in which he asserted that he held the eight policies on trust for Ms Lim. But the judicial commissioner pointed out that most of the documents she relied on as evidence were written by or on behalf of her father after his bankruptcy proceedings started. 'By that time, it would have been apparent that Hin Leong's collapse could have extremely far-reaching financial consequences for all concerned, not least Mr Lim who was a director. 'It was at this point that Mr Lim started to insist that the eight policies were in fact not owned by him and should be deemed to be held on trust,' the judicial commissioner noted. 'The courts should be wary of such belated attempts by bankrupts to shield assets from creditors by retrospectively asserting the existence of trust arrangements without contemporaneous evidence,' he pointed out. Mr Lim Chee Meng, along with his father and sister Lim Huey Ching were declared bankrupt in December 2024 following a settlement of two lawsuits brought by Hin Leong's liquidators and HSBC against the Lim family. Their bankruptcy estates are being managed by trustees Leow Quek Shiong and Seah Roh Lin of BDO Singapore, who have taken the position that the three insurance policies vest in Mr Lim Chee Meng's bankruptcy estate. The trustees had asked Mr Lim Chee Meng and Ms Lim whether a third party would pay the bankruptcy estate the surrender value of the three policies, which was worth over $521,000 as at Jan 16, 2025. If no third party would pay for them, the trustees would then terminate the policies and use the proceeds to pay his creditors. But Mr Lim Chee Meng and his daughter did not agree to this arrangement. Ms Lim claimed that her father intended to hold these policies on trust for her until she turned 21 years old, after which he would transfer the policies to her name. But the trustees contend that while the policy documents do identify Ms Lim as the insured, they do not name her as a beneficiary. The trustees also pointed out that Mr Lim Chee Meng's actions were 'inconsistent with any intention to create a trust for Ms Lim since he did not take the necessary steps to vest the three policies in her name when she turned 21', despite having the opportunity to do so. The trustees noted that AIA had written to Mr Lim on June 13, 2024, to indicate that its records showed he wished to remain the policies' owner when Ms Lim turned 21, but they were writing to him just in case he wished to change the state of affairs. The judicial commissioner noted that Mr Lim Chee Meng 'chose to ignore the (AIA) letters altogether'. Further, he also did not file any affidavit to support his daughter's case. 'While I accept that, the absence of direct evidence from Mr Lim is not determinative, such absence necessarily raises obvious and legitimate questions about the credibility and completeness of (Ms Lim's) claim,' the judicial commissioner noted. .
Business Times
3 days ago
- Business
- Business Times
Three insurance policies worth over S$500,000 to be part of bankrupt estate of OK Lim's son, rules court
[SINGAPORE] A granddaughter of fallen oil tycoon Lim Oon Kuin has failed to persuade the court that three insurance policies that named her as the insured and worth half a million should not be part of her father's bankrupt estate. High Court Judicial Commissioner Mohamed Faizal on Tuesday (Jul 1) dismissed the application of Michelle Lim to declare that the three insurance policies in question are held on trust for her sole benefit by her father Lim Chee Meng, who became bankrupt in December 2024. Lim Chee Meng's bankruptcy stems from his agreement together with those of his father – better known as OK Lim – and sister in September 2024 to pay US$3.5 billion to the court-appointed liquidators of insolvent oil trader Hin Leong Trading and top creditor HSBC after a 50-day civil trial. They were sued in August 2020 for US$3.5 billion in debt and US$90 million in dividends that they allegedly paid themselves, even though their firm was already insolvent. In the settlement reached by both parties in the civil suit, the Lims agreed without acknowledging liability to pay US$3.5 billion plus interest accrued from April 2020 to the date of payment, on top of costs. They, however, did not have enough assets to pay all the claimants that have taken legal action against them, and applied for bankruptcy. BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up Leow Quek Siong and Seah Ron Lin, the private trustees of Lim Chee Meng's bankrupt estate had asked him and Michelle Lim whether a third party would pay the bankrupt estate the surrender value of the three policies in question, which was about S$521,000 as at Jan 16. The bankrupt estate's trustees would proceed to surrender these policies to AIA Singapore if no third party would pay for them. Michelle Lim contended that her father intended to hold these policies on trust for her until she turned 21 years old, after which he would transfer the policies to her name. Thus, she insisted that these policies do not form part of the 55-year-old's bankrupt estate and are not available to any of his creditors. Lack of evidence The court noted that there was no legal documentation that formalised the arrangement for Lim Chee Meng to hold the policies for the benefit of Michelle Lim. Her policy documents also did not show any evidence of any trust arrangement between the father and daughter. Although Michelle Lim adduced four documents as evidence, the judge found that they were either self-interested representations or mere assertions. First, she referred to a letter in October 2021 from her father to carve out these policies, purportedly held on trust, from other assets subjected to a freezing order in the US$3.5 billion civil suit. Also, she cited another letter, purportedly from a personal wealth manager from AIA dated October 2021, claiming that these policies and five other policies with no surrender value were held on trust for her by her father. And, she relied on an e-mail dated March 2025 from Lim Chee Meng to the private trustees as well as a portion of his affidavit filed earlier for his bankruptcy proceedings and attached to the e-mail, in which he asserted that he held the policies on trust for her. The younger Lim claimed that her father had transferred other insurance policies to her two elder siblings when they each became old enough to hold the policies in their names. He did not surrender, assign or deal with the three policies without her consent or direction, even though he had financial needs before the bankruptcy, she argued. While Michelle Lim was named as the insured, the private trustees pointed out that she was not named as a beneficiary in the policy documents. They contended that the documents she submitted were all bare assertions, and that Lim Chee Meng did not transfer the three policies to Michelle Lim when she turned 21 years old in 2024 despite him having been reminded by AIA. The judge noted that all four pieces of documentary evidence relied on by Michelle Lim were dated after the commencement of the civil suit and her father's bankruptcy proceedings. The court should treat with caution assertions that valuable properties are held on trust for another, the judge added, especially when such assertions are made after legal proceedings have begun as the proceedings might result in bankruptcy or insolvency. 'Assertions, no matter how firmly expressed, cannot take the place of evidence; and in this case, the core claims comprised entirely of conclusions untethered to any corroborating factual account,' he commented. The judge also pointed out that the lack of direct evidence from Lim Chee Meng or Michelle Lim's elder siblings regarding the insurance policies he purportedly took out with her elder siblings as the named insured severely weakened her case.
Business Times
3 days ago
- Business
- Business Times
Three insurance policies worth over S$500,000 to be part of bankrupt estate of OK Lim's son, court rules
[SINGAPORE] A granddaughter of fallen oil tycoon Lim Oon Kuin has failed to persuade the court that three insurance policies that named her as the insured and worth half a million should not be part of her father's bankrupt estate. High Court Judicial Commissioner Mohamed Faizal on Tuesday (Jul 1) dismissed the application of Michelle Lim to declare that the three insurance policies in question are held on trust for her sole benefit by her father Lim Chee Meng, who became bankrupt in December 2024. Lim Chee Meng's bankruptcy stems from his agreement together with those of his father – better known as OK Lim – and sister in September 2024 to pay US$3.5 billion to the court-appointed liquidators of insolvent oil trader Hin Leong Trading and top creditor HSBC after a 50-day civil trial. They were sued in August 2020 for US$3.5 billion in debt and US$90 million in dividends that they allegedly paid themselves, even though their firm was already insolvent. In the settlement reached by both parties in the civil suit, the Lims agreed without acknowledging liability to pay US$3.5 billion plus interest accrued from April 2020 to the date of payment, on top of costs. They, however, did not have enough assets to pay all the claimants that have taken legal action against them, and applied for bankruptcy. BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up Leow Quek Siong and Seah Ron Lin, the private trustees of Lim Chee Meng's bankrupt estate had asked him and Michelle Lim whether a third party would pay the bankrupt estate the surrender value of these three policies, which was about S$521,000 as at Jan 16. The bankrupt estate's trustees would proceed to surrender these policies to AIA Singapore if no third party would pay for them. Michelle Lim contended that her father intended to hold these policies on trust for her until she turned 21 years old, after which he would transfer the policies to her name. Thus, she insisted that these policies do not form part of the 55-year-old's bankrupt estate and are not available to any of his creditors. The court noted that there was no legal documentation that formalised the arrangement for Lim Chee Meng to hold the policies for the benefit of Michelle Lim. Her policy documents also did not show any evidence of any trust arrangement between the father and daughter. Although Michelle Lim adduced four documents as evidence, the judge found that they were either self-interested representations or mere assertions. First, she referred to a letter in October 2021 from her father to carve out these policies, purportedly held on trust, from other assets subjected to a freezing order in the US$3.5 billion civil suit. Also, she cited another letter, purportedly from a personal wealth manager from AIA dated October 2021, claiming that these policies and five other policies with no surrender value were held on trust for her by her father. And, she relied on an e-mail dated March 2025 from Lim Chee Meng to the private trustees as well as a portion of his affidavit filed earlier for his bankruptcy proceedings and attached to the e-mail, in which he asserted that he held the policies on trust for her. The younger Lim claimed that her father had transferred other insurance policies to her two elder siblings when they each became old enough to hold the policies in their names. He did not surrender, assign or deal with the three policies without her consent or direction, even though he had financial needs before the bankruptcy, she argued. While Michelle Lim was named as the insured, the private trustees pointed out that she was not named as a beneficiary in the policy documents. They contended that the documents she submitted were all bare assertions, and that Lim Chee Meng did not transfer the three policies to Michelle Lim when she turned 21 years old in 2024 despite him having been reminded by AIA. The judge noted that all four pieces of documentary evidence relied on by Michelle Lim were dated after the commencement of the civil suit and her father's bankruptcy proceedings. The court should treat with caution assertions that valuable properties are held on trust for another, the judge added, especially when such assertions are made after legal proceedings have begun as the proceedings might result in bankruptcy or insolvency. 'Assertions, no matter how firmly expressed, cannot take the place of evidence; and in this case, the core claims comprised entirely of conclusions untethered to any corroborating factual account,' he commented. The judge also pointed out that the lack of direct evidence from Lim Chee Meng or Michelle Lim's elder siblings regarding the insurance policies he purportedly took out with her elder siblings as the named insured severely weakened her case.
