SINGAPORE — An aggrieved member is taking Tanglin Club and its general committee to court, alleging that he was unfairly subjected to disciplinary procedures because of personal vendetta and the episode affected the health of both him and his wife.

The case will be heard on Thursday (Mar 8) in the High Court. Among other things, Mr Henry Ling, 66, is seeking damages for the “deprivation of his rights” as a club member, and the “humiliation, embarrassment and mental distress” he suffered as a result of the proceedings — which were initiated after Mr Ling was accused of sending “offensive and disrespectful emails and WhatsApp messages”. According to the originating summons, he is also asking for the court to order that the club set aside its decision that he had breached club rules and by-laws, and to expunge all related records and documents.

Tanglin Club, which was founded in 1865, is among Singapore’s oldest social clubs and has more than 7,000 members currently, said the club’s website.

In his affidavit, Mr Ling said the disciplinary proceedings caused his wife to be “so distressed that she was hospitalised for five days” due to high blood pressure during the couple’s trip to Hong Kong in April last year. He also suffered a heart condition in August last year and was admitted to the emergency department at Gleneagles Hospital, where he underwent an angioplasty operation. “My own health and my wife’s health have been affected by this entire ordeal,” Mr Ling said.

The saga had begun when the club’s bridge players were asked to vacate a room which they were using temporarily, as their usual room was being redeveloped. When the bridge players petitioned against it around January last year, the general committee “narrowly voted” against the petition two months later, leading to the players having to vacate the room.

Mr Ling, who was on the general committee at that time serving the 2016-2017 term, said that soon after, the club received several alleged complaints from club members against him, the committee and its honourary treasurer Zoeb Sadiq.

Mr Ling had held the position of Co-Convenor of the Development, Planning and Maintenance Sub-Committee, and it was his responsibility to see that the redevelopment project was carried out. His wife was a “very active” member of the club’s bridge section.

Subsequently, in April last year, the general committee convened an inquiry sub-committee against Mr Ling and Mr Sadiq for “purported breaches of the club rules and/or by-laws”.

Mr Ling alleged that a proper formal vote on whether the inquiry sub-committee should be formed did not take place. The hearing was also timed “suspiciously close to and during” the campaigning period and elections for the 2017-2018 general committee.

Among other things, Mr Ling said he was kept in the dark of which rules or by-laws he had purportedly breached, until he was informed at the hearing itself. As a result, he was unable to put up a proper defence. He also claimed that several members of the inquiry sub-committee were “biased”, including its chair, Mr Eugene Lim, who is also the club’s vice-president. They voted against the petition and had taken part in WhatsApp conversations admonishing the players’ actions, for example, Mr Ling claimed. In total, nine complaints were filed against him for offensive messages or emails that he had allegedly sent, Mr Ling said. However, none of the complainants were interviewed, he said.

Moreover, for all but one of the complaints, the alleged offensive emails or messages were not shown to him. The exception was a message which had no sender details, time or date stated. “It appears to have been a ‘cut and paste’ from elsewhere and could have been sent by anyone,” Mr Ling said in his affidavit.

Last August, the general committee issued a letter of reprimand, signed by club president Robert Wiener, to Mr Ling.

Mr Ling noted that Mr Wiener previously had to resign from office in 2014, after Mr Ling had raised an alleged conflict of interest. Mr Ling also pointed out that he ran in the general committee elections against Mr Wiener twice.

In an affidavit supporting Mr Ling, Mr Franklin Wong, who sits on the general committee, said he believes Mr Wiener “sees (Mr Ling) as a threat and was thus devising a way to disqualify him from running for office”.

A member who has been issued a letter of reprimand may be barred from running in the club’s elections for at least three years. Mr Ling said he has intentions to run for the 2018-2019 general committee but he will “almost effectively” be barred from doing so.

Tanglin Club, as well as its legal counsel Allen & Gledhill, did not respond to queries on the matter.