Court of Appeal dismisses Stanley Thai's bid to intervene in Sunimax RM37m winding-up case
The Court of Appeal has dismissed Datuk Seri Stanley Thai's bid to intervene in winding-up proceedings against property holding company Sunimax Development Sdn Bhd over a RM37.03 million debt claimed by his wife. The court ruled that Thai's indirect interest through a shareholder company did not giv
PETALING JAYA (Oct 28): The Court of Appeal has dismissed Datuk Seri Stanley Thai's bid to intervene in winding-up proceedings against property holding company Sunimax Development Sdn Bhd, ruling that his indirect interest did not give him legal standing to do so. The appellate court upheld the High Court's refusal to allow Thai to intervene in proceedings brought by his wife, Datin Seri Cheryl Tan Bee Geok, over RM37.03 million she claims Sunimax owes her.
In its unanimous decision on Tuesday (Oct 27), the court held that Sunimax's assets belonged to the company, rather than its shareholders or ultimate individual investors. It upheld the finding that Thai was neither a creditor nor a contributory of Sunimax, with his interest through Supermax Property Management Sdn Bhd being indirect, The Edge Malaysia reported.
Thai had argued that the winding-up proceedings could affect the couple's ongoing divorce case because the value of certain assets was said to form part of their matrimonial estate. 'Matrimonial proceedings do not authorise intervention in pending winding-up proceedings,' the court said. It held that the division of matrimonial assets remained a matter for the family court, while the winding-up proceedings concerned the company's inability to pay its debts.
Sunimax was established as a corporate vehicle to hold assets accumulated by Thai and Tan on a 50:50 basis, according to the report. Its direct shareholders are Supermax Property Management, which holds 700,000 shares, and SenZen Mastery Sdn Bhd, with 300,000 shares. In submissions, Tan's lawyers said Sunimax relied on Supermax Property Management for financial backing, with funds used for investments including land acquisitions.
Tan brought the winding-up petition under Section 465(1)(e) of the Companies Act 2016, claiming that the RM37.03 million owed to her as a director was repayable on demand. Thai subsequently applied to intervene and sought an interim stay pending disposal of his intervention application.
The appellate panel comprised Datuk Mohamed Zaini Mazlan, Datuk Nazarin Wok Nordin and Datuk Amarjeet Singh Serjit Singh. It ordered Thai to pay RM40,000 in costs. Nazarin, delivering the decision, also accepted an objection by Tan's lawyers that Thai had filed a supplementary record of appeal on June 25 without first obtaining court leave.
Thai and Tan co-founded listed glove manufacturer Supermax Corporation Bhd. In September, they reached a court-approved settlement involving a separate private company, Supermax Holdings Sdn Bhd, through which they held interests in the manufacturer, The Edge Malaysia previously reported. The settlement provided for the distribution of Supermax Holdings' dividends and its shares in the listed manufacturer according to Thai's 57.5% and Tan's 42.5% shareholdings in the holding company. That arrangement concerned their interests in the glove manufacturer, separately from the Sunimax proceedings.
