Opposition politician Lim Tean withdraws appeal against court order to repay loan, ahead of bankruptcy proceedings

SINGAPORE — Opposition politician Lim Tean on Tuesday (Jan 15) withdrew his appeal to the High Court against a lower court’s judgment ordering him to repay a loan of US$150,000 (S$203,000) from a Chinese national.

This means that the bankruptcy application filed against the 53-year-old last month will stand, unless he repays the loan as ordered by the District Court in August last year.

Bankruptcy proceedings will throw into doubt Mr Lim’s ability to take part in the next General Election due by early 2021. Undischarged bankrupts are not allowed to contest in an election.

Mr Lim was secretary-general of the National Solidarity Party between 2015 and 2017, before founding a new party called People’s Voice. It was registered as the country’s 11th political party on Oct 31 last year.

A hearing for Mr Lim’s bankruptcy application, brought by Shanghai-based businessman Huang Min, is scheduled for Thursday morning. TODAY understands that if the loan is repaid by then, Mr Huang may withdraw the application.

The hearing for Mr Lim’s appeal on Tuesday, which was held behind closed doors, was over in eight minutes.

Asked for an update as he walked out of the courtroom, Mr Lim, who is a lawyer and representing himself, said: “No comment.” Mr Huang’s lawyer also declined to comment.

TODAY understands that Mr Lim had written to the Supreme Court earlier on Tuesday, and the hearing was solely for Justice Chan Seng Onn to grant permission to withdraw the appeal.

Mr Lim was first ordered to repay Mr Huang last August by the District Court’s deputy registrar Regina Lim. Mr Lim appealed but District Judge Tan May Tee reaffirmed the decision on Nov 22 last year, saying Mr Lim had not produced documents to support his claims.

In December last year after the bankruptcy application was filed, Mr Lim had said he would contest it.

Under Singapore law, a bankruptcy application can be filed by a creditor as long as the amount owed is no less than S$15,000.

Court documents show Mr Huang agreed to provide a loan to Mr Lim on Sept 13, 2013. Both men signed an agreement, which stipulated that the loan be repaid by Nov 30 that year. Mr Lim had sought the loan because of a “personal capital requirement”, the agreement stated.

Mr Huang transferred the US$150,000 to Mr Lim on Sept 17, 2013 and things soured when the deadline passed without repayment.

According to Mr Lim, the money was not a loan but a “downpayment for a cargo of iron ore” that Mr Huang’s company had wanted to buy from his firm.

Mr Lim has been operating an iron ore mine in Central Sulawesi since 2011 through an Indonesian company, PT Ina Touna Mining, which he controlled.

In his affidavit, Mr Lim claimed that Mr Huang had agreed to a downpayment to show his “seriousness and commitment”. The downpayment was classified as a personal loan for administrative reasons at Mr Huang’s request, he said.

Mr Huang’s lawyer said his client did express interest in buying iron ore from Mr Lim, but it was separate from the loan agreement and did not eventually materialise.

In November last year, District Judge Tan ruled that Mr Lim did not adequately support his assertions that the money was a downpayment.

The judge added that Mr Lim provided no supporting documents to show that both parties had reached an agreement regarding the sale and purchase of iron ore, and Mr Lim also acknowledged the loan in one of his emails to Mr Huang.