The Pines club members sue Peter Kwee for damages

Singapore

SOME 103 members of The Pines club have made good on their word. On Friday, they sued Exklusiv Resorts Pte Ltd, the owner of the now defunct The Pines club, and its director, motoring tycoon Peter Kwee, for alleged deceit, negligence, misstatement and breach of contract.

This came after the latter failed to deliver a renovated clubhouse at its Stevens Road vicinity as allegedly promised to club members, owing to the fact that the plot of land had changed hands to developer Oxley Holdings, who had built two Mercure and Novotel hotels on it.

In the plaintiffs' words, Mr Kwee had "stealthily" offered a switch to membership at Laguna National Golf & Country Club and Dusit Thani Laguna Singapore Resort instead.

The writ of summons seen by The Business Times showed these club members demanding, similar to what they had detailed in a letter of demand last year, that he pay each member a value equivalent to the present market value of about 20 years of use of the clubhouse and its facilities, divided by the average number of members to be determined.

In addition, they are asking for Mr Kwee's contract with members regarding the redevelopment to be carried out - such that Exklusiv Resorts procures one of the hotels from Oxley and converts it into a clubhouse for the club, furnished and refurbished with the facilities promised to members.

Failing this, an alternative would be that either Exklusiv Resorts or Mr Kwee procure membership for each member in an equivalent city and country club such as the Tanglin Club or the American Club, located at a central area of Singapore, for a term of at least equivalent to the remaining membership term that each member has.

When contacted, Mr Kwee said he had just arrived in Singapore and had not read the writ of summons, but his lawyers at Rajah & Tann have received it and will be preparing a defence.

He also added that he believes that "most members" are agreeable to the alternative membership at Laguna National Golf & Country Club and Dusit Thani Laguna Singapore Resort that he has offered.

"Among those that I have met, who have remained quiet about the case, they are very happy that they can play golf, and that there are more facilities given to them without any additional charges."

To defend the claim, the defendants must enter an appearance using the electronic filing service at the Registry of the Supreme Court and notify the plaintiff or its solicitors within eight days after service.

Thereafter, the defendant must also serve a defence within 14 days, otherwise judgement may be entered against him without further notice.

The three plaintiffs Meow Moy Lan, Phua Seng Hua and Lim Seng Hoo are represented by Derrick Wong & Lim BC LLP.