Apex court finds WP's Sylvia Lim, Low Thia Khiang liable for control failures, but not Pritam

Aljunied-Hougang Town Council civil suit | Claims clearly put to duo during trial, it notes, but AHTC did not plead the case against party chief

- Tham Yuen-C

Workers' Party (WP) chief Pritam Singh cannot be held liable for negligence in the Aljunied-Hougang Town Council (AHTC) payments process as he was not given the chance to defend himself against the claim, the Court of Appeal said on Friday.

But the apex court held WP chairman Sylvia Lim and former party chief Low Thia Khiang liable for allowing control failures in the payments process that led to the risk of overpayment, noting that the claims had been clearly put to them during the trial.

The ruling is the latest development in the long-running civil suit involving $33.7 million of improper payments made by AHTC between 2011 and 2015 under the watch of the senior WP leaders.

The High Court found in 2019 that Mr Low and Ms Lim had breached their fiduciary duties to AHTC, and Mr Singh had breached his duties of skill and care.

They appealed against the judgment, and the Court of Appeal in 2022 ruled that the town councillors and employees did not owe fiduciary duties or equitable duties of skill and care to AHTC.

But the apex court noted that they were negligent in certain aspects, including the payments process, and may still be liable for damages.

Friday's judgment focused on two specific issues: The liability of the senior WP leaders in implementing the payment process which led to the misuse of AHTC's funds, and the liability of Ms Lim towards AHTC in awarding a contract to electrical engineering firm Red-Power.

The determination for both hinged on whether AHTC had adequately pleaded its case regarding the issues.

Pleadings are formal statements setting out a party's case in terms of material facts and legal issues. A plaintiff's pleadings define the parameters of the case so that a defendant knows the issues he needs to address, the court said.