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Singapore · Practice area

Trusts

Express, resulting, and constructive trusts and trustees' duties.

198 decisions

Principal legislation

Trusts decisions

Result 26

[2025] SGHC 105

Petrotech Marine Services Sdn Bhd v Wong Wai Leng (trading as Win Services & Agency) and another and another matter

General Division of the High Court6 June 2025

Equity — Fiduciary relationships— Duties; Tort — Unlawful means conspiracy; Trusts — Accessory liability— Dishonest assistance; Trusts — Accessory liability— Knowing receipt; Restitution — Unjust enrichment; Restitution — Failure of consideration; Restitution — Change of position; Restitution — Ministerial receipt; Equity — Defences— Acquiescence; Equity — Defences— Laches; Equity — Defences— Estoppel

Result 32

[2025] SGHC 46

Kwee Seng Chio Peter v Lai Seng Kwoon (in his capacity as private trustee in bankruptcy of the estate of Kwee Hui Ling Karen) and another matter

General Division of the High Court20 March 2025

Trusts — Resulting trusts — Presumed resulting trusts — Father purchasing residential properties in daughter’s sole name — Whether father was ultimate source of funds — Whether presumption of resulting trust arises; Trusts — Resulting trusts — Presumption of advancement — Father providing for adult daughter’s housing, employment and daily expenses — Whether presumption of advancement arises — Whether presumption of advancement rebutted; Trusts — Constructive trusts — Common intention constructive trust

Result 35

[2024] SGHC 310

Devin Jethanand Bhojwani and others v Jethanand Harkishindas Bhojwani

General Division of the High Court5 December 2024

Civil Procedure — Affidavits — Principles applicable to grant of permission to adduce new affidavit of evidence-in-chief after deadline for filing and exchanging of affidavits of evidence-in-chief between litigants has elapsed — Two-stage test of relevance and prejudice for allowing new affidavit of evidence-in-chief to be admitted into evidence — Whether undue prejudice is occasioned to litigant where opposing party seeks to introduce new affidavit of evidence-in-chief addressing new points of fact close to start of civil trial after deadline for affidavits of evidence-in-chief to be filed and exchange between them has passed; Civil Procedure — Pleadings — Amendment — Principles applicable to grant of permission to amend pleadings — Whether to allow amendment of reply close to start of civil trial where amendment is responsive to pleading in amended defence; Equity — Fiduciary relationships — Fiduciary relationship of trustee and beneficiary — Whether fiduciary breached no-conflict rule — Whether fiduciary placed himself in position where duty to principal and personal interest may conflict in approving amendment to company constitution negating rights of trust property in form of preference share whilst holding ordinary shares in same company as absolute owner; Equity — Maxims — Defences — Whether beneficiaries alleging breaches of trust came to court of equity with clean hands — Relationship between clean hands doctrine in equity and Ochroid Trading approach to illegality doctrine in common law; Equity — Remedies — Account — Account on wilful default basis — Applicable test for showing wilful default of trustee — Whether trustee displayed want of ordinary prudence in conduct and administration of trust; Succession and Wills — Construction — Application of armchair principle to construction of meaning of testament constituting express testamentary trust — Whether testament on proper construction conferred power on trustee to effect conversion of preference share in company held on trust into ordinary share notwithstanding trustee holds ordinary shares in same company as absolute owner; Trusts — Breach of trust — Exclusion of liability — Construction of exclusion of liability clause — Restrictive interpretation of clause purporting to exclude liability of trustee — Armitage v Nurse approach to construction of exclusion of liability clauses in trusts instruments — Whether phrase “absolute discretion” in trust instrument enlarged trustee’s powers — Whether phrase “absolute discretion” abridged trustee’s duties — Whether phrase “absolute discretion” amounted to valid and enforceable exclusion of liability clause; Trusts — Breach of trust — Remedies — Remedy of surcharging — Application of remedy of surcharging to default of trustee on management stewardship duty — Causal inquiry to identify what prudent trustee would have done in hypothetical assessment of how trustee should have acted — Whether hypothetical prudent trustee would have approved amendment to company constitution negating rights of trust property in form of preference share without accretion of equivalent value to trust estate to compensate for corresponding loss of market value of share; Trusts — Breach of trust — Remedies — Remedy of falsification — Application of remedy of falsification to default of trustee on custodial stewardship duty — No causal inquiry where substitutive remedy of falsification is engaged — Disallowing sale of company shares held on trust where trust shares were sold by trustee at sale price below market value with corresponding obligation on trustee to reconstitute trust estate in specie; Trusts — Trustees — Duties — Statutory duty of care to exercise such care and skill as is reasonable in circumstances when exercising general power of investment — Section 3A Trustees Act 1967 (2020 Rev Ed); Trusts — Trustees — Duties — Common law duty of care to manage and administer trust as ordinary prudent man of business would have adopted in circumstances — Application of Speight v Gaunt common law standard of care owed by trustee to beneficiaries; Trusts — Trustees — Duties — Duty to keep and maintain proper accounts of trust — Whether proof of loss required for breach of duty to keep and maintain proper accounts of trust to be actionable in law by beneficiaries; Trusts — Trustees — Duties — Whether trustee under duty to inform beneficiaries of beneficial interests under trust; Trusts — Trustees — Duties — Whether trustee under duty to refrain from acting in Wednesbury unreasonable manner in administration of trust; Trusts — Trustees — Powers — Grounds of challenge to trustee’s exercise of trust powers by beneficiaries; Trusts — Trustees — Powers — Relationship between trustee’s duties and powers; Trusts — Trustees — Powers — Principle of non-intervention — Whether principle that court will not generally interfere in exercise of pure discretion by trustee in use of trust powers bears relevance in how default of duty of trustee to be conceptualised in law; Trusts — Trustees — Removal — Test for removal of trustee — Whether trustee lacking in proper capacity to execute duties — Whether court should exercise discretion to appoint some of several named beneficiaries amongst wider class of beneficiaries of trust as replacement co-trustees of trust

Result 38

[2024] SGHC 253

Xia Zheng v Lee King Anne

General Division of the High Court7 October 2024

Contract — Formation — Intention to create legal relations — Sham interest-free loan documents executed to give false impression of existence of loan agreement where parties never intended to create legal relations involving genuine loan arrangement; Contract — Implied contracts — Quantum meruit — Whether parties entered into contractual arrangement with implied term that nominee shareholder would be paid reasonable remuneration assessed on quantum meruit basis; Tort — Misrepresentation — Inducement — Whether representee was induced by false representation of fact to become nominee shareholder in company; Trusts — Resulting trusts — Presumed resulting trusts — Presumption of trust arising where moneys advanced to purchase shares registered in legal name of non-paying party

Result 39

[2024] SGHC(A) 25

ESR Group Ltd and others v HSBC Institutional Trust Services (Singapore) Ltd and another and another matter

Appellate Division of the High Court4 September 2024

Trusts — Trust deed — Interpretation — Whether the trust deed prohibits certain unitholders of the trust from voting at an extraordinary general meeting; Deeds and Other Instruments — Deeds — Interpretation — Whether the trust deed prohibits certain unitholders of the trust from voting at an extraordinary general meeting

Result 42

[2024] SGHC 196

Re Medora Xerxes Jamshid (in his capacity as the private trustee in bankruptcy of Tan Han Meng) ( Planar One & Associates Pte Ltd (in liquidation) , non-party

General Division of the High Court31 July 2024

Insolvency Law — Bankruptcy — Trustee in bankruptcy — Application for directions — Section 40(2) Bankruptcy Act (Cap 20, 2009 Rev Ed); Insolvency Law — Bankruptcy — Proof of debt — Whether claim against bankrupt for breach of fiduciary duty is a provable debt — Section 87(3) Bankruptcy Act (Cap 20, 2009 Rev Ed); Insolvency Law — Bankruptcy — Proof of debt — Relevant date for valuation of proofs of debt; Trusts — Breach of trust — Remedies; Equity — Fiduciary relationships — Breach of fiduciary duty — Remedies; Equity — Fiduciary relationships — Breach of fiduciary duty — Time of accrual of cause of action for breach of fiduciary duty; Equity — Remedies — Account — Whether claim for an account is a claim for a liquidated or unliquidated sum; Equity — Remedies — Equitable compensation — Whether claim for equitable compensation is a claim for a liquidated or unliquidated sum; Equity — Remedies — Whether remedies for breaches of trust and fiduciary duty are restitutionary in character

Result 44

[2024] SGHC 153

HSBC Institutional Trust Services (Singapore) Ltd v Q uarz Capital Asia (Singapore) Pte Ltd and others

General Division of the High Court14 June 2024

Trusts — Purpose trusts — Real estate investment trust — Whether internalisation of REIT’s management requires amendments to its trust deed; Trusts — Trustees — Powers — Whether trustee’s power to certify amendments is in the nature of a discretion; Trusts — Trust deed — Interpretation — Whether the trust deed prohibits certain unitholders of the REIT from voting at an EGM

Result 48

[2024] SGHC 44

Peck Wee Boon Patrick and another v Lim Poh Goon and others

General Division of the High Court15 February 2024

Companies — Incorporation of companies — Lifting corporate veil; Contract — Breach; Contract — Misrepresentation — Fraudulent; Equity — Dishonest assistance; Equity — Knowing receipt; Tort — Conspiracy; Trusts — Constructive trusts — Institutional constructive trusts — Remedial constructive trusts; Trusts — Quistclose trusts; Restitution — Unjust enrichment — Proprietary restitution

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