An investor hoping to get US$22,500 ($30,000) back from Singapore-based investment firm Profitable Plots had her case thrown out yesterday.
The Subordinate Court found that the company did not have any legal obligations to make payments as the contract was not made between the investor and Profitable Plots which is a separate legal entity operating in Singapore.
The investor, Ms Tan Lee Pheng, filed a lawsuit against Profitable Plots in April after it delayed payment several times.
The 39-year-old finance manager had invested in a fuel product called Boron in March last year and the company promised to return the capital with 12.5-per-cent profit after six months.
Her lawyer, Mr Louis Lim of William Poh and Louis Lim, argued during the closed-door hearing yesterday that his client has been communicating with staff from the Singapore company throughout the entire process.
However, lawyers from Drew and Napier, who represented Profitable Plots, rebutted that no contract was made between Ms Tan and Profitable Plots and hence there were no contractual terms showing that they owed Ms Tan any monies.
After the two-to-three-hour-long hearing, District Judge Joseph Yeo concluded that there was no breach of contract by Profitable Plots.
Mr Lim told MediaCorp he would need more time to consult with his client before deciding on the next course of action.
The group managing director of Profitable Plots, Mr Tim Goldring said: “We are happy with the outcome.”
Profitable Plots has been placed on the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s Investor Alert List since the latter part of last year and the Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) started investigating the company’s dealings last month.
Source : Today – 15 Sep 2010