Woman, 84, wins suit to cancel shophouse transfer to grandniece

An 84-year-old woman who signed away an Emerald Hill shophouse to her grandniece eight years ago has won a court battle to cancel the transfer and regain ownership of the property.

- Senior Law

The shophouse, estimated to be worth up to $7.8 million, is the only property Madam Ho Dat Khoon has in her name.

The Appellate Division of the High Court, which ruled in Madam Ho's favour, has also expressed concern over the conduct of the lawyer who had acted for her in 2016.

The court has referred the conduct of Mr David Liew to the Law Society of Singapore, for an inquiry into whether he had acted in Madam Ho's best interest in the entire process leading to the transfer.

In written grounds of decision on Aug 28, the court said: "We were of the view that the plaintiff did not understand the nature and effect of the transfer. In particular, Mr Liew's conduct in acting for the plaintiff caused us concern as to whether Mr Liew had acted in the best interest of the plaintiff.”

The court comprised Justices Woo Bih Li, Kannan Ramesh and Philip Jeyaretnam.

The shophouse was purchased by Madam Ho's father, Mr Ho Kwang Ming, and registered in her name in 1970. Mr Ho died that year at the age of 71. He had five other children apart from Madam Ho.