Former NSP chief Lim Tean issued writ of summons over unpaid loan
A writ of summons had been issued against former National Solidarity Party (NSP) chief Lim Tean over an unpaid loan of US$150,000 (S$206,000), which he disputed.
The plaintiff, Chinese national Huang Min, stated in court documents that he had loaned the amount to Mr Lim and wanted to be repaid.
In August this year, a State Courts Deputy Registrar ruled that Mr Lim, who is a lawyer, has to repay Mr Huang.
A summary judgment by District Judge Tan May Tee dated Nov 22 this year stated she agreed that Mr Huang had established a prima facie case for judgment on his claim for the repayment of the loan.
Following this, Mr Lim has appealed to the High Court about the matter and the case is still pending.
Represented by lawyers Lim Mingguan and Bestlyn Loo, Mr Huang, who is based in Shanghai, issued the writ of summons filed on Dec 14 last year.
According to Mr Huang, on or around Sept 13, 2013, he agreed to lend US$150,000 to Mr Lim Tean, who agreed to repay the amount by Nov 30 that year.
Court documents stated Mr Huang transferred the money on or around Sept 17, 2013, but Mr Lim did not repay any part of the amount by the agreed date.
According to Mr Huang's claim, Judge Tan said: "On or around Feb 21, 2017, the defendant e-mailed the plaintiff to say among other things, that he was 'making arrangements to start paying (the plaintiff) back within the next two months'.
"The defendant also stated he regretted the 'long delay', was 'very sorry for the inconvenience caused', and assured the plaintiff that the loan would be repaid."
The judge said that in his defence, Mr Lim denied Mr Huang's claim "in its entirety". She said according to Mr Lim, Mr Huang had expressed his desire to buy iron ore from Mr Lim's Indonesian mine through a firm called Falcon Resources (FRC).
Judge Tan said: "In or around September 2013, the defendant had agreed to sell iron ore from his mine to FRC, and requested for a down payment of US$150,000 for the sale of the first cargo with details of the sale to be finalised and completed with the plaintiff and FRC."
The judge added that according to Mr Lim, Mr Huang wanted the down payment to be termed as a loan "for his own internal purposes".
In her summary judgment, she said Mr Lim's e-mail was an "unequivocal admission" of the loan.
Get The New Paper on your phone with the free TNP app. Download from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store now