Legal

Wife of Coastal Oil’s Tan Sing Hwa saddled with debt to the tune of USD 131 million

Based on the ironclad terms of a jointly held loan of USD 1.94 million, wife of Tan Sing Hwa is now liable for separate loans taken out for Coastal Oil HK and Singapore.

Published

6 years ago

June 17, 2020

Admin

Editor: The following article is a summary of the full 32-page judgement from the High Court of the Republic of Singapore. The complete document published on 4 June 2020 is available here.

The wife of Tan Sing Hwa, namely Lim Sor Choo, has been saddled with debt of USD 131 million, according to a High Court of the Republic of Singapore judgement seen by Manifold Times on Monday (15 June).

Tan Sing Hwa and his wife Lim Sor Choo in 2011 was approved for a loan of USD 1.94 million from Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation (OCBC) to finance a property; and in 2016 Tan Sing Hwa signed on a second loan from OCBC Hong Kong to fund two of his companies namely Coastal Oil (HK) Limited and Coastal Oil Singapore Pte Ltd.

The 2011 loan term stated that Lim is also jointly liable for any sums owed by Tan to OCBC, including any interests and costs incurred. The 2011 loan term was also in effect for Tan’s second loan in 2016.

The loan application for Coastal Oil (HK) Limited and Coastal Oil Singapore Pte Ltd was approved in 2017 based on a letter of guarantee provided by Tan that Coastal Oil HK would be liable for any debts owed by both companies.

Subsequently, when Coastal Oil Singapore was liquidated in 2018, the bank repeatedly approached Tan to make full payments on the amounts due but Tan did not respond even when the bank took legal action in January 2019.

This granted the bank default judgment for Tan’s loans from OCBC which amounted to the sum of USD 131 million. As such, the bank decided to take action against Lim in June 2019, as stated in the terms of the 2011 loan term.

Lim appealed to the judiciary system that at the time of signing, neither she nor the banks would have known that Tan would incur debts to the tune of hundreds of millions and therefore she should not be liable for the sum.

Judiciary Commissioner Dedar Singh Gill has rejected her appeal reasoning that the terms of the loan are drafted ‘unambiguously’ and it is common for banks to adopt the broadest terms when drafting terms of a loan in order to minimise losses.

Manifold Times previously reported Coastal Oil’s forgery scandal which involved Ong Ah Huat and Huang Peishi’s alleged operations with Tan Sing Hwa and Carol Zong to embezzle funds from a Singapore bank account to Hong Kong.

Photo credit: Manifold Times
Published: 17 June, 2020

Legal

Singapore police arrest eight over alleged illegal MGO transaction off Tuas

SPF says preliminary investigations found that crew members of a Singapore-registered tugboat misappropriated MGO worth about SGD 10,570 without their company’s knowledge and sold it illegally.

Published

3 days ago

August 14, 2026

Admin

Singapore police arrest eight over alleged illegal MGO transaction off Tuas

The Singapore Police Force (SPF) on Thursday (13 August) said it has arrested eight men, aged between 25 and 54, for their suspected involvement in an illegal transaction of Marine Gas Oil (MGO).

On 13 August 2026 at about 1.05am, officers from the Police Coast Guard (PCG) conducted a check on a Singapore-registered tugboat in the waters off Tuas and discovered that eight crew members were possibly involved in the illegal transaction of MGO.

“Preliminary investigations revealed that the crew members of the tugboats misappropriated MGO valued at about SGD 10,570 (USD 8,258), without their company’s knowledge,” SPF said in a statement.

“The MGO was sold illegally for their personal financial gain.”

The eight crew members will be charged in court on 14 August 2026 with the offence of theft by servant of property in possession of master under Section 381 of the Penal Code 1871 If convicted, they shall be punished with an imprisonment term that may extend to seven years and shall also be liable to fine.

“The Police take a serious view of illegal transaction of MGO in Singapore Territorial Waters and will continue to conduct enforcement and security checks to prevent, deter and detect such illicit activities in Singapore waters,” SPF added.

Photo credit: Singapore Police Force
Published: 14 August, 2026

Winding up

Singapore: Liquidators of East Marine Pte Ltd issues notice of annual meeting

Annual meeting of the company and its creditors will be held at 8 Wilkie Road, #03-08 Wilkie Edge, Singapore 228095 via audio-visual conference on 20 August at 11am.

Published

5 days ago

August 12, 2026

Admin

A notice of annual meeting was issued by liquidators of East Marine Pte Ltd, which is in creditor’s voluntary liquidation, on the Government Gazette on Friday (7 August).

According to the notice, the annual meeting of the company and its creditors will be held at 8 Wilkie Road, #03-08 Wilkie Edge, Singapore 228095 via audio-visual conference on 20 August at 11am.

The purpose of the meeting is to have an account laid before the meeting showing the acts and dealings of the liquidators and the conduct of the winding up in the preceding year.

The following are the details of the liquidators:

Ng Kian Kiat
Yap Hui Li
Liquidators
c/o 8 Wilkie Road
#03-08 Wilkie Edge
Singapore 228095

Photo credit: steve pb from Pixabay
Published: 12 August, 2026

Winding up

Singapore: Annual and final meetings to be held for Asia-Pacific Shipyard Pte Ltd

Annual meeting and the final meeting of the company and its creditors will be held at 8 Wilkie Road, #03-08 Wilkie Edge, Singapore 228095 via audio-visual conference on 9 September.

Published

5 days ago

August 12, 2026

Admin

A notice of annual meeting and final meeting was issued by liquidators of Asia-Pacific Shipyard Pte Ltd, which is in creditor’s voluntary liquidation, on the Government Gazette on Friday (7 August).

According to the notice, the annual meeting and the final meeting of the company and its creditors will be held at 8 Wilkie Road, #03-08 Wilkie Edge, Singapore 228095 via audio-visual conference on 9 September.

The annual meeting will be held at 2pm while the final meeting will be held at 3pm.

The purpose of the meeting is to have an account laid before the meeting showing the acts and dealings of the liquidators and the conduct of the winding up in the preceding year and the manner in which the winding up has been conducted and the property of the company has been disposed of and hearing any explanation that may be given by the liquidators.

The following are the details of the liquidators:

Ng Kian Kiat
Yap Hui Li
Liquidators
c/o 8 Wilkie Road
#03-08 Wilkie Edge
Singapore 228095

Photo credit: Drew Beamer
Published: 12 August, 2026