Man Who Sued Mum's Estate Gets 38% Share of Rent for Coffee Shop Over Two Decades

He also sued two of his sisters who began handling their mother's finances in 2015

- Selina Lum

A man who sued his late mother's estate for half of the rent she had collected over two decades on a Housing Board coffee shop won his case when a judge ordered the estate to pay him his share.

But just 38 per cent, and not 50 per cent as he had contended in his suit.

Mr Tia Oon Lai, 69, who co-owned a 30-year lease on the coffee shop with his mother, sued her estate after she died, claiming a half-share of the rent that had been paid to his mother by food-court operator Koufu from October 1998 to June 2018.

The eldest son claimed this was because his father had "gifted" the coffee shop to him and his mother in equal shares.

Mr Tia alleged that his mother, Madam Su Ye Chu, had committed a breach of trust through the "unauthorised dissipation" of his share of the rent.

He also sued his eldest sister Sally, 74, and youngest sister Poh Kim, 62, both of whom began handling their mother's finances in 2015.

In a written judgment on June 9, the High Court said Mr Tia failed to prove that his father had gifted the lease to him and Madam Su in equal shares, or even that his father had paid for the lease.

However, Judicial Commissioner Kristy Tan found that Mr Tia was entitled to a 37.65 per cent share of the rent from October 1998 to June 2018.