AN ongoing legal dispute in the Lim family, which controls the multibillion ringgit Genting group, has taken an interesting turn.

The Court of Appeal Malaysia (Appellate Jurisdiction) dismissed an appeal by Infoline Sdn Bhd, which had sought to prevent Benjamin Lim Keong Hoe from viewing the Tee Keong Family Trust deeds to determine if his removal as a beneficiary was done in accordance with the trust provisions.

To recap, Infoline is the trustee of the Tee Keong Family Trust, set up by the late Tan Sri Lim Goh Tong, the patriarch of the Lim family and Keong Hoe’s paternal grandfather. The Tee Keong Family Trust refers to the family of the late Datuk Lim Tee Keong, Goh Tong’s eldest son and Keong Hoe’s father.

Court documents sighted by  The Edge read, “It is just and fair that the respondent [Keong Hoe] be allowed to know that his removal as a beneficiary was done in accordance with the provisions of the trust deed, and he can only know that if he has sight of that trust deed.

“Consequently, the Court was of the view that the respondent was entitled to see the provisions of the trust deed in order to check for himself whether his removal as beneficiary has been properly made in accordance with the provisions therein.”

The High Court had consented to Keong Hoe’s application for a pre-action discovery and had sought discovery, disclosure and/or inspection of certain trust documents. In a nutshell, a pre-action discovery is a way to obtain relevant information to allow for an informed decision as to whether or not to commence proceedings.

The Court of Appeal, in dismissing Infoline’s appeal, is allowing Keong Hoe to view the Tee Keong Family Trust deeds. However, it is not clear if Infoline’s executives will appeal the decision to the Federal Court.

The disagreement is between Joey Lim Keong Yew, Keong Hoe and Marie Lim Seok Leng — the children of the late Tee Keong and grandchildren of the late Goh Tong — and their uncles Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay and Datuk Lim Chee Wah, who are the younger two sons of Goh Tong. While Kok Thay and Chee Wah have three elder sisters, none of them seem to be involved in the dispute.

To recap, Goh Tong had set up the Tee Keong Family Trust under a trust deed dated May 18, 1990, between Quah Chek Tin and Infoline, which holds one portion out of three of Goh Tong’s Malaysian Residual assets under trusts.

Infoline’s directors are Yap Chong Chew and Chee Wah. Chee Wah also doubles up as a shareholder and is a trustee of the Tee Keong Family Trust. The late Goh Tong was guardian and appointor of the trust and, upon his death, was succeeded by Amaline (M) Sdn Bhd, where Kok Thay is director and shareholder.

In July 2014, Keong Hoe wrote to the trustees to obtain a copy of the trust deed to ascertain his and his children’s rights and entitlements, but on Aug 19, the trustee replied, stating that he had been removed as a beneficiary of the Tee Keong Family Trust.

Keong Hoe says he was never informed about the removal and, via an email dated Oct 3, 2014, objected to the removal and demanded a copy of the trust deed. After receiving no response, he commenced legal proceedings.

Keong Hoe only found out in January 2015 that his removal as a beneficiary of the family trust was with effect from March 18, 2014, a month before Tee Keong passed away.

In December 2015, Seok Leng wrote to the trustee to obtain a copy of the trust accounts to ascertain her and her children’s rights and entitlements under the family trust.

With the trustee not responding, Seok Leng wrote in again and gave a deadline to reply by Jan 18, 2016, five days after her request. The trustee’s silence resulted in Seok Leng commencing legal action.

In the course of the proceedings, she discovered that she had also been removed as a beneficiary of the family trust.

Keong Hoe and Seok Leng contend that their removal as beneficiaries was wrongful and unlawful.

In its statement of defence, Infoline says that Yap, via a letter dated Aug 19, 2014, had informed Keong Hoe that he was no longer a beneficiary to the discretionary trust after the defendant exercised a discretion on March 18, 2014.

Infoline did not respond to Keong Hoe as it was “not obliged under the discretionary trust deed” to provide a copy of the trust deed.

Infoline also said that it had no obligation under the discretionary trust to inform Keong Hoe and Seok Leng of their removal as beneficiaries, nor to disclose the reasons.

While it is not clear what assets Infoline manages for the Tee Keong Family Trust, the assets could be worth a large amount, considering the Genting brand and what it owns.

Several issues and accusations have cropped up during the feud, with the late Tee Keong at the centre of it. For one, Tee Keong was a bankrupt when he passed away on April 14, 2014. While his two sons are alleging that they are looking to clear him of this bankrupt status, Tee Keong’s brothers question why the sons were not present at times when their father was unwell.

There is also the issue of Tee Keong’s children out of wedlock. Tee Keong, who was married to Agnes Tan Bee Gaik, had a union with one Joanne Fok with whom he had two children — Kenneth Lim Keong Wye and Katherine Lim Seok Yan.

Tee Keong’s sons from Tan — Keong Yew and Keong Hoe — were not named as beneficiaries in his will. Their mother was given 10% of Tee Keong’s estate and their sister Seok Leng another 10%, but the bulk was left to his children with Fok — son Keong Wye was left 60% and daughter Seok Yan was given 20% of his estate.

Tee Keong’s will was signed on March 11, 2014, about a month before he passed away. Kok Thay and Chee Wah are executors of the will. Both Keong Yew and Keong Hoe are challenging the validity of this will, as he was a bankrupt.

In the lawsuit against their uncles, Keong Yew and Keong Hoe noted that the will was prepared by Lai & Lai Partnership, and the two witnesses were Tan Chui Lin, an advocate and solicitor with Lai & Lai, and Gerard Lim Ewe Keng. A Dr Chong Khah Shin attested to Tee Keong’s mental capacity at the time of the execution of the will.

Keong Yew and Keong Hoe stated that Lai & Lai have been Genting group’s lawyers for many years. The principle partner of Lai & Lai, Joseph Lai, is on the board of Kien Huat Realty Sdn Bhd that controls a 39.76% stake in Genting Bhd. They also stated that Ewe Keng is an employee of the Genting group.

The two brothers allege that all three are beholden to Kok Thay and Chee Wah, who have wielded total or substantial control over the Genting group since Goh Tong passed away in 2007.

In their affidavit in defence, Kok Thay and Chee Wah said the services of Lai & Lai were used at the request of Tee Keong, and added that Chong was a close and trusted friend of the late Tee Keong, and Ewe Keng was a mere witness to the will.

Keong Yew and Keong Hoe also said Tee Keong’s will allows his estate to inherit property that Goh Tong’s wife, Lee Kim Hua, will or may pass on to Tee Keong upon her death, including any shareholding, direct or indirect, in the Genting group.

Lee has a 16.67% stake in Parkview Management Sdn Bhd, which in turn has 94.21% in Kien Huat Realty, the flagship company of the late Goh Tong.

Other shareholders of Parkview Management are Ewe Keng with 33.34%, Kok Thay with 16.67%,  Amaline — a company controlled by Kok Thay — with 16.67%, and company secretary Roselind Niap Kam Lian who holds 16.67%.

This 16.67% held by Lee in Parkview is worth billions, considering Genting’s market capitalisation is close to RM32 billion.

Genting controls several choice assets in Singapore, Hong Kong, Europe and the US.  The other listed companies it controls include Genting Malaysia Bhd and Genting Plantations Bhd, which are both listed in Kuala Lumpur, and Genting Singapore Plc, publicly traded in the island republic.

For the nine months ended September 2016, Genting Bhd registered a net profit of RM1 billion from RM13.61 billion in revenue.

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