JUDGEMENT
Introduction
[1] This is an appeal by Dato Ting Ching Lee, the appellant, against the Court of Appeal's decision to allow the respondent, Ting Siu Hua's counterclaim.
The appellant was the 1st plaintiff and the respondent was the defendant at the High Court. The respondent's counterclaim was for the recovery of monies for two lines of credit totaling USD1.5 million and the advance of rolling rebate for USD193,800.00 for gambling at Naga Casino, Cambodia.
[2] The pertinent and interesting legal issues in the present appeal concern the Malaysian's position on recovering monies related to gambling or wagering and the application of s 26 of the Civil Law Act 1956, and ss 24 and 31 of the Contracts Act 1950. Further, whether the present facts of the case, trigger the application of the said sections in light of the decision by the High Court in Wynn Resorts (Macau) S A v. Poh Yang Hong [2019] MLRHU 1845 affirmed by the Court of Appeal and the application for leave to appeal to the Federal Court was dismissed.
[3] On 6 August 2024, the appellant's application for leave to appeal to this Court was granted on one question of law which is as follows:
"In construing whether any claim for monies given in the form of credit amounts to a gambling debt or otherwise, should the approach be the approach adopted by the Singapore Court of Appeal in Star City Pty Ltd (formerly known as Sydney Harbour Casino Pty Ltd) v. Tan Hong Woon [2002] 1 SLR (R) 306, ie to ascertain the overall purpose of the same by considering it in its entirety as a composite contract?"
The Background Facts
[4] The appellant is a businessman from Bintulu, Sarawak, and holds various positions in associations and social bodies in Sarawak.