Genting founder’s grandkids lose bid to expunge portions of statement

 High Court judge Mahazan Mat Taib says the bulk of the evidence provided by lawyer Low Beng Choo, who drafted their mother’s will, does not constitute hearsay.

Kuala Lumpur High Court judge Mahazan Mat Taib said the hearsay rule did not prevent a solicitor who received and acted on instructions from giving evidence about the testator’s intentions. (Pexels pic)

KUALA LUMPUR:

 The High Court today dismissed an application by the late Genting founder Lim Goh Tong’s grandchildren to expunge portions of a witness statement from lawyer Low Beng Choo who drafted their mother’s last will in 2022.

In her judgment, Justice Mahazan Mat Taib said that by applying Section 60 of the Evidence Act 1950 and the principles on hearsay, the court found that the bulk of the evidence did not constitute hearsay in law.

“The plaintiffs’ application to expunge portions of the fourth defendant’s (Low) witness statement in enclosures 186 and 479 is therefore dismissed. Any specific objection to particular answers or documents may be raised during the course of the trial and will be ruled upon in context,” she said.

The court also ordered the plaintiffs to pay RM20,000 in costs to the defendants.

Among the parts of Low’s witness statement that counsel V Sithambaram sought to expunge were details of how certain markings in a 2021 will allegedly came about, reportedly on Lim Siew Kim’s instructions to reduce the cash inheritances for her two daughters.

The inheritances were said to have been cut from RM10 million to RM900,000 for Chan T’shiao Li, 48, and from RM10 million to RM100,000 for Kimberley Chan T’shiao Miin, 45.

Mahazan emphasised that this ruling addressed only the threshold issue of admissibility.

“The court’s refusal to exclude the evidence does not amount to any acceptance of its truth, nor does it constitute any finding on the merits; all issues relating to credibility, reliability and probative value remain open for determination at the conclusion of the trial,” she said.

The judge said the hearsay rule did not prevent a solicitor who received and acted on instructions from giving evidence about the testator’s intentions. Such evidence is allowed under Section 60 of the Evidence Act 1950 and the rules for probate cases.

She added that any truly objectionable claims from third parties could be dealt with specifically, but most of the evidence in question should not be thrown out at this stage.

Sithambaram represented T’shiao Li and T’shiao Miin, while Rishwant Singh appeared for executor and trustee Malcolm Fernandez. Ong Kheng Leong represented another executor and trustee, Chan Mei Yee; Goik Kenwayne and Foong Kar Yee represented Siew Kim’s son, Marcus Chan; and S Sivaneindran appeared for Low.

On Feb 23, Low testified that Siew Kim had signed her final will on April 28, 2022.

Siew Kim, Goh Tong’s third child, passed away from cancer in July 2022 at the age of 73. She is survived by three daughters and a son.

In the suit, the plaintiffs seek a declaration that the last will purportedly executed by the deceased on April 24, 2022, as well as the first and second wills purportedly executed on Nov 2, 2021, and April 11, 2022, respectively, are null and void.

The plaintiffs further seek a declaration that their mother died without leaving a will. - FMT