Raymond Ng declared vexatious litigant, court imposes litigation restraints on Iris Koh

The court found that Raymond Ng had brought certain proceedings for collateral purposes and likely had the intention to annoy opposing parties.

SINGAPORE: The High Court on Tuesday (Aug 4) declared businessman Raymond Ng a vexatious litigant and imposed litigation restraints on his wife, Iris Koh.

The Attorney-General's Chambers had sought to have the couple declared vexatious litigants, saying they were waging "lawfare" and monetising litigation.

The vexatious litigation order against Ng means he cannot institute any civil court proceedings without permission of the High Court and all proceedings he has already begun cannot continue without the court's permission.

His wife, the founder of anti-vaccine group Healing the Divide, had a general civil restraint order issued against her, which is of lower severity than the order against her husband.

The order against Koh lasts for two years and can be extended. It restrains her from beginning any civil action or application without the High Court's permission.

She can continue her ongoing civil actions or applications.

JUDGE'S FINDINGS

In a judgment issued on Tuesday afternoon, Justice Hoo Sheau Peng said it appeared to her that Ng had brought certain proceedings for collateral purposes, pointing to how he had described potential litigation as a source of income.

She also found it likely that Ng had the intention to "annoy his opposing parties".

He also stood to gain from the publicity of his GetEven.AI platform which he charges S$1,000 (US$780) for individuals to use the platform to "sue those who hurt them".

Ng had also made calls to the public for donations and publicised his "sponsorship scheme" on TikTok where an individual can "sponsor" his lawsuit and get returns.

Justice Hoo said Ng had habitually and persistently and without reasonable ground instituted vexatious legal proceedings, and there was no reason not to impose the order on him.

Given his conduct, it was an appropriate measure, she said.

However, she found that the requirements to declare Koh a vexatious litigant were not satisfied, as it was not established that Koh habitually instituted vexatious legal proceedings.

Instead, she granted a general civil restraint order against Koh.

Justice Hoo said the orders will prevent an abuse of court processes.

She said it would also be in the couple's interests not to persist in instituting legal proceedings which are vexatious or totally without merit.

"Ultimately, (they) will not be precluded from vindicating any of their legitimate rights under the law, or to seek legal redress for genuine grievances. They must simply seek the court's permission before doing so," said Justice Hoo.