SINGAPORE – A man who was in 2025 awarded a share of the rent collected by his mother over two decades on a Yishun coffee shop is no longer entitled to the millions, after his sisters won an appeal against the earlier court decision.
Mr Tia Oon Lai, 70, who was registered as the co-owner of a 30-year lease on the HDB coffee shop with his mother, had sued his late mother’s estate and two sisters in 2022 to claim a share of the rent.
His eldest sister Sally, 75, and youngest sister Poh Kim, 63, had been handling their mother’s finances since 2015. Madam Sally Tia was also sued as the estate’s representative.
He sought 50 per cent of the rent, which he claimed amounted to about $7 million, paid to his mother by foodcourt operator Koufu from October 1998 to June 2018.
Mr Tia, the eldest son, and his mother, Madam Su Ye Chu, became registered owners of Hiap Hoe Eating House in May 1997, after his father withdrew from the business following a stroke.
Madam Su, who had five other children, was in her early 90s when she died in October 2021.
In June 2025, the High Court rejected Mr Tia’s claim for 50 per cent, but found that he was entitled to a 37.65 per cent share.
The two sisters, who were separately represented by Mr Nichol Yeo and Mr Colin Seow, appealed. Their position was that rent solely belonged to Madam Su and now her estate.
On May 5, the Court of Appeal, in a 2-1 ruling, overturned the lower court decision.
The majority, comprising Justice Woo Bih Li and Justice Debbie Ong, found that Madam Su fully owned the rental income from the coffee shop in the period under dispute.
