Court orders man to honour S$600,000 payment to brothers left out of mother's will
The High Court has ordered Franklin Chan Yip Tong to honour a S$600,000 payment to his two brothers who were left out of their mother's will. The money was to come from the S$5 million sale of a semi-detached house at Eng Kong Road bequeathed to Franklin and his brother David.
SINGAPORE: The High Court has ordered a man to honour a S$600,000 payment to his two brothers who were left out of their mother's will, after finding that a handwritten agreement he signed was a valid contract.
Justice Christopher Tan ruled on Monday (Oct 19) that Franklin Chan Yip Tong must pay S$300,000 each to his brothers George and Jack Chan Yip Tong, following the sale of a semi-detached house at Eng Kong Road for S$5 million in April 2022. The property had been bequeathed to Franklin and his brother David in equal shares under their mother's will.
The matriarch, who died in December 2012, left four beneficiaries in her will: David, Franklin, George's daughter and Oliver's daughter. Oliver, another son, had died before her. The will bequeathed the Eng Kong Road house to David and Franklin, a retail unit in Far East Shopping Centre to the two sons and Oliver's daughter, and a condominium unit at Hindhede Walk to her granddaughters. George and Jack were left out of the will, straining relations among the brothers.
Around June 2018, the brothers' uncle, Mr Tam Sook, flew from Mauritius to Singapore to broker a reconciliation. He proposed that David and Franklin each pay S$300,000 to George and Jack from the sale proceeds of the Eng Kong Road property. The brothers agreed orally, but the payment was not made.
In September 2021, Franklin found a buyer offering S$5 million for the Eng Kong Road property. David refused to sign the option to purchase unless Franklin agreed that George and Jack would each receive S$300,000. Franklin signed a handwritten note to this effect, but the next day disavowed it in a WhatsApp message, claiming he signed under duress. The property was sold in April 2022 for S$5 million, and the disputed S$600,000 was set aside in a joint account pending the court's ruling.
Justice Christopher Tan ruled on Oct 19 that the handwritten note was a validly concluded contract that Franklin must honour. The judge pointed to a Sep 5, 2021 message in which Franklin called the buyer a
