JUDGMENT

Nor Bee Ariffin JCA:

Introduction

[1] This appeal is primarily concerned with the legal status of the customary marriage of the 1st respondent to the late Chan Kun Hong (the Deceased) purportedly to have taken place in or around the month of December 1978 at Kaohsiung City, Taiwan (the disputed customary marriage) when the Deceased's marriage to the appellant on 15 March 1969 and registered under the Civil Marriage Ordinance No 44 of 1952 (CMO) was subsisting. It is not disputed that the Deceased remained legally married to the appellant during his life time.

[2] The Deceased died intestate on 30 January 2013. On 17 February 2014 the appellant was granted Letters of Administration (LA) to administer the Deceased's estate. The appellant in her capacity as the administratrix, subsequently distributed the Deceased's assets and properties to the appellant and her two children as beneficiaries of the Deceased in accordance with the Distribution Act 1958 [Act 300]. The respondents challenged the grant of the LA to the appellant, claiming among others that the 1st respondent was one of the lawful widows of the Deceased and she and her two daughters, who are the 2nd and 3rd responde