Your World of Legal Intelligence
 Hong Kong | 1-800-335-6202

Tsang Siu Shing v Lam Kwai Hing And Another

Judgment Cited in Precedent Map Related
Vincent
Judgment Date24 March 1999
Year1999
Judgement NumberFAMV2/1999
Subject MatterMiscellaneous Proceedings (Civil)
CourtCourt of Final Appeal (Hong Kong)
FAMV000002/1999 TSANG SIU SHING v. LAM KWAI HING AND ANOTHER

FAMV000002/1999

FAMV No. 2 of 1999

IN THE COURT OF FINAL APPEAL OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

MISCELLANEOUS PROCEEDINGS NO. 2 OF 1999 (CIVIL)

(ON APPLICATION FOR LEAVE TO APPEAL

FROM CACV No. 259 OF 1997)

_____________________

Between:
TSANG SIU SHING Applicant
(Respondent)
AND
LAM KWAI HING First Respondent
(Petitioner)
YIM KAN Second Respondent
(Intervener)

_____________________

Appeal Committee: Chief Justice Li, Mr Justice Litton PJ and Mr Justice Bokhary PJ

Date of Hearing: 24 March 1999

Date of Determination: 24 March 1999

____________________________

DETERMINATION

____________________________

Chief Justice Li:

1. This is the determination of the Appeal Committee on the application by the applicant ("the husband") for leave to appeal. The respondents will be referred as "the wife" and "the wife's mother".

2. The husband and the wife were married in December 1990. They had regarded themselves as previously married after a Chinese wedding banquet held in 1984. On the wife's petition for divorce, a decree nisi was made unopposed in August 1995. The decree was made absolute in February 1996.

3. On the breakup of the marriage, the husband and the wife were in dispute on the financial matters. The husband also applied for avoidance of disposition of the transfer in 1991 of a flat in Mongkok by the wife to her mother who was an intervener.

4. The matter was heard by His Honour Judge de Souza over a number of days. He refused the husband's application for avoidance of disposition of the flat in Mongkok. On the basis of the clean break principle, he ordered the husband to transfer his interest as joint tenant of a flat in Tseung Kwan O to the wife and to pay maintenance at $5,000 per month for the period 1 June to 1 November 1997.

5. The husband appealed to the Court of Appeal (Nazareth VP, Liu and Leong JJA). The appeal was heard on 2 July 1998 and judgment was delivered on 14 July 1998. The Court of Appeal allowed the appeal to a considerable extent. Basically, they decided that the clean break principle was not appropriate having regard to the circumstances. The orders made included an order that the wife be permitted to remain in the Tseung Kwan O flat rent free until 14 July 1999, an order that the wife do transfer her joint ownership interest in that flat to the husband on 15 July 1999 and an order that the husband pays maintenance to the wife. They upheld the Judge on refusing to avoid the transfer of the flat in Mongkok to the wife's mother.

6. On 22 July 1998, the husband applied to the Court of Appeal for leave to appeal to the Court of Final Appeal...

To continue reading

Request your trial

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT