Ng Soh Hoon v 1. ) Yap Liong Boon 2. ) TAN CHUN HONG @ TAN CHOON KIAW

ba-24ncvc-2316-10-2025 High Court (Mahkamah Tinggi) 28 January 2026 • BA-24NCvC-2316-10/2025 • 9 min read

5 cases cited (0 SG, 5 foreign)

Catchwords

Contract – Interpretation – Family settlement agreement – Renunciation clause – Whether renunciation by plaintiff personal or binding on children – Agreement to be construed holistically – Clauses to be read together – Consideration for renunciation – Agreement binding on heirs and successors – Whether plaintiff’s children bound by agreement – Whether statutory inheritance rights under Distribution Act 1958 affected – Whether declaratory relief should be granted Contract – Construction of agreement – Natural and ordinary meaning of words – Contract to be interpreted as a whole – Court not to interpret clauses in isolation – Clauses 5, 6 and 7 forming reciprocal arrangement – Family settlement regulating benefits from estate and family companies – Federal Court authorities on contractual interpretation applied Equity – Election – Doctrine of approbate and reprobate – Party accepting benefits under agreement – Whether party can subsequently deny obligations arising from same agreement – Plaintiff and children enjoying benefits for many years – Whether equitable doctrine prevents challenge to agreement Equity – Delay – Laches and acquiescence – Declaratory relief – Whether court may refuse declaration where there has been substantial delay – Agreement executed more than two decades earlier – Parties acting on agreement for many years – Whether relief inequitable Family law / Estate – Distribution of estate – Family settlement agreements – Whether agreements regulating distribution of estate assets encouraged by law – Importance of finality in family arrangements Civil procedure – Declaratory relief – Discretion of court – Whether declaration should be refused where inconsistent with conduct of parties and equitable principles

Practice Areas

Contract Civil procedure

Judges (1)

Asmah binti Musa Delivered

Counsel (6)

KC Lim & Associates Firm T C Chong & Rakan Rakan Firm Lee Chooi Peng Counsel Respondent Lim Kai Cheng Counsel Respondent Malar a/p Subramaniam Counsel Appellant Nursufia binti Rashdan Nubil Counsel Appellant

Parties (3)

Ng Soh Hoon Applicant Tan Chun Hong @ Tan Choon Kiaw Respondent Yap Liong Boon Respondent

Cases Cited (5)

MY (5)

[2010] 1 CLJ 269 [2017] MLJU 1964 [2019] 2 CLJ 1 [2022] 2 MLJ 805 [2024] 6 MLJ 276

Judgment

Read the full judgment on the official Malaysia Courts portal.

Read on eJudgment

Source: eJudgment (ba-24ncvc-2316-10-2025)