Our Partner, Ankit R. Sanghvi, together with Senior Associate, Chew Jin Heng and Associate, Tan Zec Kie from Halim Hong & Quek’s Dispute Resolution team, successfully acted for the Judgment Debtor in an application before the Kuala Lumpur High Court (WA-24-85-05/2025) to set aside the registration of a Singapore judgment premised on gambling-related debts in Malaysia.

The matter arose from a judgment and order obtained by Resorts World at Sentosa Pte Ltd in the High Court of the Republic of Singapore, which was subsequently registered in Malaysia under the Reciprocal Enforcement of Judgments Act 1958 (REJA 1958). The registered judgment involved sums exceeding S$900,000, comprising the principal sum, interest, costs and further costs.

Acting for the Judgment Debtor, HHQ applied to set aside the registration of the Singapore judgment on, among others, the ground that its enforcement in Malaysia would be contrary to public policy in Malaysia. The application raised a novel and important issue on the limits of registering and enforcing foreign judgments in Malaysia, particularly where the underlying judgment arises from casino credit facilities and gambling-related transactions.

On 9 April 2026, High Court Judge Dato’ Amarjeet Singh a/l Serjit Singh allowed the Judgment Debtor’s application and set aside the registration order and the notice to the Judgment Debtor of registration of the foreign judgment. The Court further set aside the registration of the Singapore judgment in Malaysia, with costs of RM10,000 awarded in favour of the Judgment Debtor.

In effect, the decision of the High Court means that the Singapore judgment, which was related to gambling debts, cannot be enforced in Malaysia.

This is a significant outcome in the area of cross-border judgment enforcement. The decision affirms that while foreign judgments from reciprocating jurisdictions may generally be registered in Malaysia under REJA 1958, their registration and enforcement remain subject to the statutory safeguards under Malaysian law, including whether such enforcement would be contrary to public policy in Malaysia.

HHQ is pleased to have secured this successful and novel outcome for our client.