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SINGAPORE \u2013 Months before she went missing, the wife of a prominent Sarawakian businessman sued her estranged husband in Singapore, accusing him of forging her signature to obtain her shares in a Singapore company. <\/p>\n
Mr Thomas Hah responded with a counterclaim, accusing his wife Pamela Ling of wrongfully seizing control of his company, which owns six commercial properties in Singapore.<\/p>\n
On April 9, Ms Ling, 42, was reportedly abducted in Putrajaya, near Kuala Lumpur, while she was on her way to give a statement to the Malaysian anti-graft agency in relation to a corruption and money-laundering investigation involving her and her husband. <\/p>\n
Her disappearance grabbed headlines in the country after her brother issued a statement to the media on May 2. <\/p>\n
Seven months on, as Ms Ling remains missing, Mr Hah, 56, moved forward with his counterclaim.<\/p>\n
On Oct 21, the High Court granted judgment in his favour after a one-day trial.<\/p>\n
Mr Hah testified via video link from Malaysia while two of his employees took the stand in person.<\/p>\n
Justice Chua Lee Ming ruled that Mr Hah was the owner of the company, Multi Galaxy, and that Ms Ling\u2019s registered shares in the firm were held on trust for Mr Hah.<\/p>\n
The judge found that Ms Ling had wrongfully transferred 279,650 shares to herself in December 2023 and that her removal of Mr Hah as director was invalid.<\/p>\n
He also ordered Ms Ling to pay a sum of $203,281.68 she had wrongfully transferred out of Mr Hah\u2019s bank account in October 2023, and rental proceeds of $155,903.23 from two properties.<\/p>\n
The two residential properties, one in Lincoln Road and the other in Upper East Coast Road, are registered in their joint names.<\/p>\n
During the hearing, Justice Chua noted that Mr Hah could have sought a default judgment, without a trial, due to Ms Ling\u2019s absence.<\/p>\n
But Mr Hah\u2019s lawyer, Mr Chew Xiang from Rajah & Tann, said his client wanted to proceed on the merits of his case.<\/p>\n
Mr Chew said in his opening statement that Mr Hah was unable to run Multi Galaxy\u2019s business and access its bank accounts unless the court granted the remedies he sought.<\/p>\n
Mr Hah and Ms Ling married in September 2001. She moved to Singapore with their three children in 2008.<\/p>\n
Mr Hah, the founder of diversified conglomerate Joinland Group, ran his business from Malaysia. <\/p>\n
In August 2023, Ms Ling filed for divorce in Singapore, and Mr Hah filed for divorce in Malaysia in December that year.<\/p>\n
In her lawsuit filed in October 2024, Ms Ling alleged that Mr Hah had forged her signature to obtain her shares in Multi Galaxy.<\/p>\n
Ms Ling, a director and employee of the firm, claimed the company belonged to her.<\/p>\n
She said that in December 2023, she discovered 279,650 shares, or 55.93 per cent of the company, had been transferred to Mr Hah, and that he had been appointed a director of the firm. <\/p>\n
Ms Ling said she did not sign the transfer documents, which bore her signature.<\/p>\n
She made a police report against Mr Hah that month.<\/p>\n
She then submitted filings to the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority to reflect that Mr Hah had transferred 279,650 shares to her and was no longer a director.<\/p>\n
In January 2024, Mr Hah made a police complaint against Ms Ling regarding the transfer she had made.<\/p>\n
In his defence to the lawsuit, he said Ms Ling had signed the documents during a family trip to Japan in June 2023.<\/p>\n
Mr Hah\u2019s bid to stay the lawsuit pending the conclusion of the Malaysian proceedings was dismissed by the Singapore court in January 2025.<\/p>\n
Mr Chew said his client thus had to refute Ms Ling\u2019s serious accusations and to bring to light that she had misappropriated his assets after filing for divorce.<\/p>\n
He added that given Ms Ling\u2019s disappearance, the divorce proceedings \u201cmay or may not be able to proceed\u201d.<\/p>\n
Multi Galaxy was originally set up under the name Joinland Group in 2009, with Mr Hah as a director and sole shareholder. <\/p>\n
Mr Hah said he had full control over the company, and there was never any intention to benefit Ms Ling by gifting her shares in his firm.<\/p>\n
While shares were transferred to her name for various reasons, both of them understood that he was the 100 per cent beneficial owner of the firm.<\/p>\n
In 2012, he transferred half the shares to Ms Ling so that she could get an employment pass to stay in Singapore long-term.<\/p>\n
In 2016, he transferred his 250,000 shares to Ms Ling and stepped down as director to distance himself from the firm.<\/p>\n
This was motivated by concerns raised by Standard Chartered Bank about his businesses, including in Papua New Guinea.<\/p>\n
In 2019, his directorship was reinstated, and the shares were transferred back to his name.<\/p>\n
In 2020, following a notice from OCBC Bank that it was not willing to continue to support the firm\u2019s bank account, he again arranged for his 250,000 shares to be transferred to Ms Ling and resigned as director. He also changed the company name to Multi Galaxy.<\/p>\n
Mr Hah said his understanding was that the bank had sustainability and environmental concerns about a business relationship with him due to his ventures in the timber industry.<\/p>\n
He said that in early 2023, he decided that he should again have his shares and directorship reinstated to his name and arranged for documents to be prepared, which Ms Ling denied signing.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n