SINGAPORE, March 21 — The Singapore High Court has dismissed motoring tycoon Peter Kwee’s claim that he is the rightful owner of five properties registered in his daughter Karen’s name, ruling that they were intended as gifts.
In a written judgment yesterday, sighted by The Straits Times (ST), Justice Philip Jeyaretnam acknowledged that Kwee had funded the purchases and often bought properties under family members’ names for business and estate planning purposes.
However, he found that Kwee had intended to transfer ownership of the five properties — two landed homes in Bukit Timah and three overseas, in Canada and Australia — to Karen.
The dispute arose after Karen was declared bankrupt in October 2022, raising the question of whether the properties should be included in her bankruptcy estate.
Kwee, who owns Laguna National Golf Resort Club, sued private trustee Lai Seng Kwoon, seeking a declaration that Karen held the properties, their sale proceeds, and money in three bank accounts on trust for him.
If successful, his claim would have shielded the assets from Karen’s creditors.
According to ST, testimonies from both father and daughter confirmed that Kwee had always provided for his family, covering living expenses and purchasing homes and cars for them.
Karen, who had worked in her father’s companies since her 20s, relied financially on him and had no independent income apart from salaries and allowances he arranged.
Kwee argued that he retained control over all properties bought under family members’ names and that Karen had agreed to a “name-placing” arrangement, where the properties were registered in her name but belonged to him.
Lai, represented by lawyer Daryl Fong, did not dispute Kwee’s financial support for Karen.
However, he contended that this relationship created a moral or equitable obligation, leading to the presumption that Kwee intended to benefit his daughter.
Justice Jeyaretnam highlighted Kwee’s own words, noting that he had told Karen in Mandarin: “After I die, these properties are yours.”
The judge ruled that this indicated Karen was the beneficial owner from the outset, rather than merely holding the properties on trust.
“The discussion that the properties were hers when he died without any need for Peter to make a gift of them by will to her indicated that she became the beneficial owner of the properties from the start,” he said.
The judge also found that the bank accounts primarily contained rental proceeds from the properties, reinforcing that Karen had the beneficial interest in the funds.
Kwee was ordered to pay over S$195,000 (RM646,000) in legal costs to Lai.
