By Selina Lum
Madam Hwang Cheng Tsu Hsu took the bank to court after it
refused to let her touch the money, on the grounds that the bank
had doubts about her mental capacity.
Last month, a lower court granted OCBC's application for Madam
Hwang to be examined by an independent psychiatrist to evaluate
whether she was mentally fit to handle her finances.
Madam Hwang challenged OCBC's move and appealed against the
decision, as well as an earlier decision rejecting her request for
summary judgment - asking the court to decide without a full
trial.
On Tuesday, Justice Tan Lee Meng dismissed her appeal on the
summary judgment issue. Her lawyer Andrew Ee then withdrew the
appeal against the issue of appointing a psychiatrist.
At the hearing, OCBC's lawyer questioned if Madam Hwang was the
one driving the lawsuit.
Why is she vigorously resisting being examined by a
court-appointed expert if she is indeed mentally fit to handle her
financial affairs, asked Mr Adrian Wong.
'This makes no sense unless the plaintiff (or the true engine
behind the suit) is afraid that she will fail a
re-examination.'