Founder of clinic chain moved Sentosa properties, other assets out of creditors’ reach: Judge
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The court’s decision means that the assets Dr Goh Seng Heng had placed beyond his creditors’ reach will now be vested with the Official Assignee, a public servant.
PHOTO: ST FILE
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SINGAPORE - Aesthetics doctor Goh Seng Heng, who founded the PPP Laser Clinic chain, moved millions in assets to his family members with the intent to defraud his creditors, the High Court ruled on Wednesday.
This included transferring his half-share in a Sentosa house to his wife for $5.25 million, buying a $5.8 million penthouse at the Seascape condominium on Sentosa in his son’s name, and moving $1.87 million to his son’s bank account.
These transactions were declared by the court to be void and of no effect.
Dr Goh also bought another penthouse on Sentosa in his daughter’s name for $4.88 million, but the court said there was insufficient evidence that the unit at The Berth by the Cove was purchased with the intention to defraud creditors.
Justice Lee Seiu Kin concluded that Dr Goh’s daughter, Ms Melissa Goh, held the property on trust for her parents.
The court’s decision means that the assets Dr Goh had placed beyond his creditors’ reach will now be vested with the Official Assignee (OA), a public servant who investigates the affairs of bankrupts and recovers their assets for distribution to creditors.
Dr Goh had applied for bankruptcy on March 6, 2020, stating that he was unable to pay his debts. He was declared a bankrupt on March 19, 2020.
Justice Lee ordered Dr Goh’s son, Dr Jeremy Goh, to pay over monies in the bank account to the OA within seven days, and to sell the Seascape condominium unit within three months and pay 50 per cent of the proceeds to the OA.
He similarly ordered Ms Goh to sell the unit at The Berth within three months and pay 50 per cent of the proceeds to the OA.
The judge also found that Dr Goh remains the joint owner of the Cove Way house and was liable to refund his wife, Madam Koh Mui Lee, the sum of $5.25 million she had paid him.
The decision came in a lawsuit brought against Dr Goh’s wife and two children by businesswoman Wang Xiaopu.
Madam Wang, who invested $30.7 million in the PPP chain, won a lawsuit in 2019
When Dr Goh failed to repay the sum, she sued his family members, contending that he had placed his assets out of his creditors’ reach via various asset purchases and transfers.
Madam Wang, represented by Senior Counsel Jimmy Yim and Ms Grace Morgan from Drew & Napier, also argued that Dr Goh’s bankruptcy application was intended to delay, hinder and defraud his creditors.
She said Dr Goh’s declaration in his bankruptcy application that he had no assets should be viewed against the fact that he received at least $60 million from herself, a company named Liberty Sky and another company named RSP Investments.
The defendants, represented by Senior Counsel Koh Swee Yen, said Madam Koh had purchased Dr Goh’s joint tenancy interest in the Cove Way house so that she did not have to make decisions jointly with him about whether her mother could continue living there.
With respect to the units at The Berth and Seascape, the defendants contended that although the properties were purchased using monies in a bank account jointly held by Dr Goh and Madam Koh, only Madam Koh operated the account and exercised full control over the monies in it.
The defendants argued that Ms Melissa Goh was the full legal and beneficial owner of the unit at The Berth, and that Dr Jeremy Goh was the full and beneficial owner of the Seascape unit.
The defendants said Dr Goh and Madam Koh had gifted the units to their children as they knew Ms Melissa Goh and Dr Jeremy Goh were not earning enough money to afford comfortable homes at the time.
Although Dr Goh’s family members did not call him to testify during the trial for the present case, Madam Wang subpoenaed him as a witness.
He denied any intention to defraud his creditors, saying that he was always confident that he would prevail in the various lawsuits between himself and Madam Wang.
He stated that he gambled extensively at Marina Bay Sands and often played baccarat with his friend Bernard Ang, who would help place bets on his behalf.
He said his family had been unaware of his addiction, and that to raise capital for gambling, he had asked his children to mortgage units at Seascape and Berth and sold his interest in the Cove Way house to his wife.
