Amarjeet Singh Serjit Singh JC:

[1] This is an application by the defendants to strike out the plaintiffs' writ and statement of claim under O 18 r 19(1)(d) of the Rules of 2012 (enclosure 29). The plaintiff contended that the civil suit was a probate action which did not comply with O 72 of the Rules of 2012 and the plea of res judicata has rendered the said civil suit or part thereof an abuse of the process of the Court.

[2] On 13 December 2021, I dismissed the application. This judgment contains the reasons for my decision.

Background Facts

[3] The case concerns a dispute concerning the administration of the estate of one Venkatachalam Chettiar who passed away testate on 8 March 1985 ("the deceased" and "the estate"). The grant of probate for the estate was issued on 26 October 1993. The beneficiaries of the estate are the two plaintiffs and the 2nd defendant. The executors of the estate are Swaminathan Chettiar, since deceased, the defendants and the 2nd plaintiff. The plaintiffs and the 2nd defendant are Indian nationals residing in India while the 1st defendant, a Malaysian citizen, is the only executor of the estate within jurisdiction and who has direct control over a