Case:

Brief Facts:

• This suit arose following the death of Tan Kah Yong who passed away on 7th October 2012 due to a motor-vehicle accident. He died intestate (without leaving a will).

• He left behind a daughter named Tan Sin Yee, the 2nd appellant who was born on 8th October 2002 from his relationship with Lu YanLiu.

• The validity of the marriage between the deceased and Lu YanLiu was challenged as the deceased and Lu YanLiu only underwent a Chinese customary marriage.

• The birth of the Tan Sin Yee was registered under section 13 of the Births and Deaths Registration Act 1957, a provision governing the registration of illegitimate children.

• Thus, a declaration was sought to rule that Tan Sin Yee, as an illegitimate child, does not have a legal right to claim an interest in the estate of the deceased.

HIGH COURT

• The High Court held that Tan Sin Yee is an illegitimate child by virtue of the fact that the customary marriage which her parents underwent was not a valid marriage under Law Reform (Marriage & Divorce) Act 1976.

• As an illegitimate child, she was thus not entitled to inherit under the Distribution Act 1958.

COURT OF APPEAL

• The Court of Appeal agreed with the High Court’s findings that Tan Sin Yee is an illegitimate child and that as an illegitimate child, she was not entitled to inherit from the deceased’s estate under the Distribution Act 1958.

COURT OF APPEAL – APPEAL ALLOWED

• The Federal Court held that the Court of Appeal had adopted the incorrect approach when construing the relevant sections of the Distribution Act 1958.

• The Federal Court held that the Court must adopt the purposive rule of construction and favour a construction which promotes the purpose, object or intent of the legislation over a construction which does not.

• When construing the Distribution Act 1958, the Court held that:

• The Distribution Act 1958 does not deal with matters of legitimacy of a child or the validity of a marriage unless it is specifically spelt out in the provisions of the Act itself;

• The Act does not state that only legitimate children may inherit in the case of intestacy. On the contrary, section 6 uses the term “issue” as opposed to the term “child”;

• The use of the word “issue” indicates the intent to expand the category of persons who may inherit, and the term “issue” in relation to the deceased suggests descendants by blood lineage, which is not dependent on the legitimacy of the descendant.

• Therefore, the right to inherit lasts so long as there is established some genetical or blood lineage connection between the person claiming succession in the distribution with the deceased.

In the facts of this appeal, it is not in dispute that Tan Sin Yee is an issue of the deceased. Her birth certificate attests to that lineage. Therefore, she is entitled to a share in her late father’s estate