SINGAPORE – The tycoon who made headlines in 2017 for his run-in with the management committee of the Ardmore Park condominium was declared bankrupt in the Hong Kong High Court last week.

Dr Sit Kwong Lam, who was listed as a billionaire by Forbes in 2017 but dropped off last year, had provided a personal guarantee for US$30 million worth of goods that Singapore bunker supplier Brightoil Petroleum Singapore had bought from Petrolimex Singapore, based on two invoices billed in April last year. Petrolimex had applied for a bankruptcy order against Dr Sit.

“This court is not satisfied there is a reasonable prospect of the debt being paid, either by Brightoil Singapore or the debtor, within a reasonable time,” Hong Kong High Court Judge Peter Ng said in decision grounds last week.

In the wake of the bankruptcy order, Hong Kong-listed Brightoil Petroleum Holdings, a group involved in various oil and gas actitivities, announced on Tuesday (April 16) that Dr Sit had stepped down as chairman and executive director of the company last Thursday. He also stepped down as company CEO and as director in various subsidiaries in the group.

Dr Sit, who holds a doctorate from Nanjing University, plans to appeal against the order and seek re-appointment as director.

The self-made tycoon has made news before. In 2017, he challenged the decision of the Ardmore Park management committee, which had asked him to remove the additions made to the external facade of his penthouse.

He took the case all the way to the top court. He lost his battle but, in the process, the Court of Appeal clarified the touchy issue of what constitutes “common property” in a condo complex.

Dr Sit had installed timber deckings over the entire roof outside his unit without permission, and then claimed the area was not common property – an argument that the court rejected.

His latest legal spat involves Brightoil Petroleum Singapore (BPS), which is owned by the parent holding company in Hong Kong. BPS had owed Petrolimex US$30,253,600 in April last year when Dr Sit stepped in to personally vouch that the amount would be paid about three months later. When the July 10 deadline could not be met, BPS undertook to pay its dues in four instalments by November. Dr Sit also extended his guarantee to cover the amount, but neither he nor BPS paid up.

Once the bankruptcy proceedings against Dr Sit kicked in, his lawyers tried to have them thrown out, but the judge found “no merit” in their arguments.

The judge pointed out that Dr Sit had accepted he would be liable for the repayment, based on his guarantee.

The court was also not convinced that BPS would be able to arrange refinancing in the future to repay the debt within a reasonable time.

In declaring Dr Sit bankrupt, the court also ordered him to bear the legal costs.

Meanwhile, Petrolimex has also started proceedings in the Singapore High Court to wind up BPS.

Petrolimex, a subsidiary of Vietnam National Petroleum Group, is seeking to recover the US$30 million it is owed.

At a hearing before Justice Aedit Abullah on Wednesday, Drew & Napier lawyer Blossom Hing, representing BPS, successfully argued to extend a stay on all proceedings until end-May for the company to present restructuring proposals to stop the winding-up application.

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