Abstract:
In Chng Weng Wah v Goh Bak Heng [2016] 2 SLR 464, the defendant trustee successfully relied on laches to bar the plaintiff beneficiary’s claim for a common account. Such reliance is problematic. First, since a beneficiary is not obliged to seek a common account within any period of time, any delay should (by itself) not prejudice him in any way. Secondly, barring the common account does not tell the beneficiary what happens to his equitable interest. Thirdly, recourse to laches is unnecessary and potentially confusing since there are straightforward provisions in the Rules of Court that enable a defendant to defeat the claim for an account.