A Brazilian plastic surgeon has withdrawn a lawsuit he brought against Singapore lawyer Laurence Wee to recover his alleged share of profits from a sale of property at Hub Synergy Point in Anson Road.
Midway through a trial that started in the High Court last Tuesday, Dr Marco Aurelio Moura De Faria Correa, a Singapore permanent resident with a clinic at Mount Elizabeth Novena Specialist Centre, threw in the towel.
"After three days of trial, I have come to realise there is no basis to my claim against Mr Laurence Wee, and that I have made unjustified allegations against him," Dr Marco said in a statement on Friday that was seen by The Straits Times.
Mr Wee, son of the late former chief justice Wee Chong Jin, is a director of law firm Quahe Woo & Palmer, and has more than 31 years of experience in conveyancing, banking and corporate finance.
Dr Marco had sued Mr Wee and bankrupt businessman Sukamto Sia, claiming they failed to pay him $1.08 million for his alleged "contribution and agreed share of profits" from the sale of eight office units on the 27th floor and the entire 28th floor of Hub Synergy Point.
As Mr Sia, a Singapore citizen, had been declared bankrupt in 2016, payment was sought from Mr Wee.
Dr Marco claimed that they were his partners in the investment.
In July 2013, Mr Sia negotiated with former shipping tycoon Tong Djoe to buy the strata unit at Hub Synergy Point, previously known as Tunas Building - for $17.3 million.
Mr Wee was initially the solicitor handling the property deal, but later replaced Mr Sia as buyer of the strata unit, because Mr Sia could not complete the deal owing to his financial difficulties.
The strata unit was resold for $20 million in 2014, and Mr Wee made a profit of about $2.7 million.
Dr Marco, who claims he contributed $1 million to the investment and was supposed to get "a guaranteed return of $400,000" within a certain period, said he got back only $322,512 from Mr Sia on Sept 1, 2014.
He said he filed suit in October 2019 after "futile efforts at getting his returns" from Mr Sia and Mr Wee.
Mr Wee, on the other hand, said he was not a party to the loan agreement between Dr Marco and Mr Sia, and had no knowledge of it.
Mr Wee said he never received any of the loan monies from Dr Marco or Mr Sia and had bought the strata unit with his own monies.
He also noted that Dr Marco "made repeated and desperate demands against Sukamto from Sept 1, 2014, to March 24, 2016", but did not make such demands on him.
Mr Sia also "never once made any demand against him for the return of his alleged profits", Mr Wee said.
Mr Wee's lawyers, Senior Counsel Jimmy Yim and Mr Kevin Lee of Drew & Napier, pointed out that Dr Marco could have entered a default judgment against Mr Sia in February after the Official Assignee did not allow Mr Sia to defend himself in the proceedings.
But Dr Marco did not enter judgment against him, and instead, Mr Sia became a witness in his case.
"This shows that Marco and Sukamto have aligned themselves to seek a payout from Mr Wee," they said in court papers.
In his statement withdrawing the suit, Dr Marco said: "I have asked my solicitors to apply to enter judgment against Sukamto Sia.
"I withdraw my allegations against Mr Wee unreservedly, I am grateful that he has agreed to my application for dismissal of the action with payment of a modest sum of costs to him.
"I sincerely regret the inconvenience and stress that my suit has brought to Mr Wee."
Judicial Commissioner S. Mohan told the court on Friday: "The court is always pleased when parties are able to resolve their disputes amicably without having to fight to the bitter end, as it were, and I think the resolution in this case has also been facilitated not just by parties being sensible, but counsel being sensible as well."
