Businessman loses suit to recover US$1m casino investment from monk

A businessman, who sued the abbot of a temple seeking to recover US$1 million ($1.24 million) he invested in a casino in Cambodia, has lost his case.

The High Court on Thursday found that the evidence at trial did not point to any agreement between Mr Chua Kwee Sin and Venerable Meow Di. Rather, said Justice Tay Yong Kwang, the evidence showed that the casino investment deal was between Mr Chua and business consultant William Tan Kheng Tiong.

The judge noted that the monk did receive money from Mr Chua, but the money was meant to be forwarded to Mr Tan. He found that the money was eventually handed over to Mr Tan.

Ven Meow Di had named Mr Tan as a third party in the suit to bear the liability for any damages ordered. However, since Mr Chua did not sue Mr Tan and lost his case against the monk, he will have to file a separate suit against Mr Tan if he wants to get the money back from him.

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