Lawyer B. Thangaraj, representing interim administrators pendente lite (APLs) Datuk S. Satharuban and Khoo Siew Kiat, said the payments were expenses incurred while carrying out their duties to preserve and protect the estate.
He said the APLs' appointment order empowered them to preserve, protect and manage the deceased's assets and pay lawful debts of the estate.
He said Siew Kim's will provided for testamentary expenses, including legal fees, to be paid from the estate.
"These are fees payable in respect of them acting for the executors and in estate matters.
"In these circumstances, the fees are to be borne by the estate.
"So these are definitely lawful debts of the estate," he submitted.
Thangaraj said there was transparency in the APLs' conduct and no evidence of misconduct in defending the will.
He said the APLs were not beneficiaries of the estate but were merely carrying out their responsibilities to administer and protect its assets.
On Monday, the court was told that the APLs had allegedly paid lawyers more than RM2 million without approval, in breach of a court order.
Thangaraj dismissed the allegations, saying the APLs had acted within the scope of their court order.
He said the APLs had taken steps to protect the estate, including seeking financial documents and preventing fixed deposits from being uplifted.
He said parties dissatisfied with the APLs' actions could apply to the court for further directions instead of seeking their removal.
Judge Datuk Mahazan Mat Taib fixed Nov 13 to deliver her decision.
Satharuban and Khoo were appointed by the High Court on Nov 27, 2023, to manage the estate as APLs amid an ongoing family dispute over the validity of Siew Kim's will.
Siew Kim, the third child of late Genting Group of Companies founder Tan Sri Lim Goh Tong, died of cancer in July 2022 at the age of 73.
She left three daughters and an only son, Marcus Chan Jau Chwen, 42, who is seeking the removal of the administrators.
Siew Kim's daughters, Chan T'shiao Li and Kimberly Chan Tshiao Miin, are challenging the validity of a will said to have been executed on April 28, 2022, arguing that their mother lacked testamentary capacity due to her medical condition before her death.
The first and second defendants in the sisters' suit are Malcolm Fernandez and Chan Mei Yee, the executors and trustees named in the April 28, 2022, will.
The third and fourth defendants are Marcus and lawyer Datuk Low Beng Choo, who drafted, prepared and executed the will. - NST
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