Singapore Court of Appeal upholds woman’s 99% stake in Bukit Timah condo dispute

Ms Millie Wong and her ex-boyfriend Mr Jake Ngor bought a condominium unit in Bukit Timah in December 2019 for about S$1.865 million. They registered ownership in a 99:1 ratio favoring Ms Wong, with her holding 99% of the shares on title ^{[1, 2, 3]}.

The couple broke up months after the purchase, sparking a dispute over ownership. Mr Ngor contributed more financially and sued Ms Wong in 2023 to claim a greater beneficial interest ^{[2, 4, 3]}.

In June 2025, the High Court ruled that Ms Wong held the property on a resulting trust for Mr Ngor. The court determined he owned 54.22% beneficial interest due to his larger financial contribution ^{[2, 4, 5, 6]}.

However, on May 20, 2026, the Court of Appeal allowed Ms Wong’s appeal and overturned the earlier judgment. It found the resulting trust was tainted by a tax avoidance intent to evade the additional buyer’s stamp duty (ABSD). Justice Hri Kumar Nair said, "Even if we had not found that the parties’ common intention was for the 99:1 ratio to reflect their legal and beneficial ownership, the issue of illegality would have been an independent basis for denying Jake’s claim" ^[2].

The court confirmed Ms Wong’s 99% ownership despite her paying less than Mr Ngor. It ordered Mr Ngor to pay Ms Wong S$50,000 in appeal costs ^{[1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 3]}.

Mr Ngor testified that the 99:1 ownership split was arranged to reassure Ms Wong that he would not cheat on her and to avoid paying the ABSD on a second property purchase. Ms Wong denied any such agreement and maintained that the ratio represented their true legal and beneficial ownership ^{[1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 3]}.

The ABSD was introduced by the Singapore government in 2011 at rates of 20-30% for second or subsequent homes to manage property demand ^[1].

The dispute centered on the 99:1 split registered in the couple’s names for the Hillcrest Arcadia unit in Bukit Timah. After the breakup in 2020 and subsequent legal battle beginning in 2023, the Court of Appeal’s verdict on May 20, 2026, finalized the distribution of ownership and costs ^{[1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 3]}.