Serenah Lee Siow Fah Esther Ong Tengku Saiful & Sree

Serenah Lee Siow Fah Esther Ong Tengku Saiful & Sree

The High Court held that the plaintiff established a good arguable case based on the defendant's statutory declaration and demonstrated a real risk of dissipation from the defendant's subsequent conduct; non-disclosure of accounting/audit material was immaterial at this interlocutory stage; the freezing order was not oppressive because the defendant admitted having other income; the injunction was varied to restrain RM 494,000.00 only until the disposal of the underlying Session Court action rather than until full disposal of any execution proceedings, and other terms of the Sessions Court order were maintained.

Citation
BA-12ANCVC-207-12/2019 (Mahkamah Tinggi)
Parties
Appellant/defendant: Serenah Lee Siow Fah; Respondent/plaintiff: Esther Ong Tengku Saiful & Sree
Court
High Court
Jurisdiction
Malaysia
Judgment Date
2 September 2020
Case Number
BA-12ANCVC-207-12/2019 (Mahkamah Tinggi)
Procedural Posture
Civil Appeal (interlocutory Injunction/freezing Order) / High Court Hearing on Appeal From Sessions Court Order Affirming Ex Parte Interim Injunction
Outcome
Appeal allowed in part; Sessions Court order affirmed in substance but paragraph 1 varied
Legal Topics
Mareva Injunction, Ex Parte Application, Freezing Order, Full and Frank Disclosure, Balance of Convenience, Oppressive Injunction, Duration/perpetuity of Injunction
Source Language
Malay/English
Civil Procedure Equity Injunctions (mareva/freezing Orders) Employment/trust Disputes Mareva Injunction Ex Parte Application Freezing Order Full and Frank Disclosure +3 more

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Parties

Serenah Lee Siow Fah

Appellant/defendant

Esther Ong Tengku Saiful & Sree

Respondent/plaintiff

Procedural Posture

Civil Appeal (interlocutory Injunction/freezing Order) / High Court Hearing on Appeal From Sessions Court Order Affirming Ex Parte Interim Injunction

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether there was a good arguable case to justify a Mareva-type freezing order
  2. 2 Whether there was a real risk of dissipation of assets within the jurisdiction
  3. 3 Whether the applicant gave full and frank disclosure in the ex-parte application

Ratio Decidendi

The High Court held that the plaintiff established a good arguable case based on the defendant's statutory declaration and demonstrated a real risk of dissipation from the defendant's subsequent conduct; non-disclosure of accounting/audit material was immaterial at this interlocutory stage; the freezing order was not oppressive because the defendant admitted having other income; the injunction was varied to restrain RM 494,000.00 only until the disposal of the underlying Session Court action rather than until full disposal of any execution proceedings, and other terms of the Sessions Court order were maintained.

Court Disposition

Appeal allowed in part; Sessions Court order affirmed in substance but paragraph 1 varied

Orders

  • Rayuan ini dibenarkan secara separa dengan meminda atau menukar perenggan 1 dalam Perintah Mahkamah Sesyen bertarikh 09.12.2019 untuk dibaca seperti berikut: "Jumlah wang sebanyak RM 494,000.00 dalam akaun-akaun bank Defendan disekat dan/atau dibekukan sehingga pelupusan penuh tindakan Guaman BA-B52NCVC-274-07/2019...
  • Lain-lain perintah yang terkandung dalam Perintah Mahkamah Sesyen tersebut adalah dikekalkan