Hao Mart owner resisting OG’s mortgage foreclosure on his Tanglin GCB
He has filed an appeal, and the next hearing is set for Oct 15
[SINGAPORE] Hao Mart’s owner and his wife are resisting the foreclosure by OG of their Tanglin properties, which had earlier been mortgaged to the department store operator to raise funds for the food-themed mall Taste Orchard.
Dr Tan Kim Yong and Teo Siew Ling failed to get the Supreme Court assistant registrar to allow their application to convert the court action by the OG-appointed receivers of the properties to an originating claim from an originating application.
The difference between the court actions is primarily whether the material facts of the case are disputed.
Claimants may pursue their claim via an originating application when the material facts are not in dispute, with the case primarily concerning points of law or document-based interpretations.
However, if material facts and matters of law are contentious and merit a full trial with witnesses and cross-examination, an originating claim is the appropriate court process to start a court action. Alternatively, the court can grant a conversion to an originating claim from an originating application, if it is satisfied that substantial disputes of fact will likely be involved.
Dr Tan and Teo have since appealed against the assistant registrar’s decision, with the next hearing set for Oct 15.
Hao Mart’s legal disputes
Dr Tan is the chairman, sole shareholder and CEO of investment-holding company Hao Corp, which owns Hao Mart that operated Taste Orchard at the premises of the former OG Orchard Point building.
Hao Mart had leased all five levels of the building in Orchard for 7½ years, of which three floors were occupied by its supermarket Eccellente.
OG and Dr Tan had entered into a facility agreement on Aug 4, 2023, with Hao Mart’s owner borrowing S$66.2 million from the landlord for various payments including for Taste Orchard’s alteration construction works and rent.
A mortgage was created over the two plots of land Dr Tan and his wife jointly own at Jervois Hill in Tanglin, and where a Good Class Bungalow they jointly occupy sits.
Hao Mart was evicted by OG on alleged rental arrears and breaches of the lease agreement less than two years into the lease, after it was prematurely discontinued by OG on Hao Mart’s alleged rental arrears and subletting parts of the premises without approval.
Receivers Lim Loo Khoon and Matthew Becker took out an originating application in April to seek a declaration that the mortgage registered on Aug 22, 2023, has become enforceable, entitling them to take vacant possession of the properties.
Dr Tan and Teo contended that OG is not entitled to take possession of the properties, and that whether the facility and lease agreement are enforceable, as well as whether OG breached the redemption agreement, are triable issues.
Dr Tan asked that other proceedings arising from Hao Mart’s lease from OG, concerning “the same core” dispute, be jointly dealt with for a “holistic determination”.
The lawsuits he cited in his affidavit, filed in July to support the conversion to an originating claim, include one against a wholly owned unit of PropNex and one of its salespersons, alleging misrepresentation in the leasing of the Taste Orchard premises, and OG’s lawsuit against Hao Mart for alleged rent arrears and damages.
Hao Mart is embroiled in a string of litigation cases stemming from the Taste Orchard lease, including two sub-tenants that separately sued the supermarket operator after their tenancy agreements were discontinued.
