O.K. Lim’s daughter loses challenge to exclude evidence in ongoing trial

On August 24, Lim Huey Ching, daughter of former oil tycoon Lim Oon Kuin, faced defeat in her attempt to exclude certain evidence in her ongoing trial for obstruction of justice. The trial commenced in October 2025, with Lim Huey Ching accused of instructing IT staff to delete data from the computer servers of Hin Leong Trading, a now-bankrupt oil trading company.

The case began to stall when Lim filed an application to the High Court, claiming that the district judge had improperly admitted legal advice from the company's in-house counsel as evidence. The in-house counsel advised the Lims to disclose financial irregularities to banks to support the company's restructuring. Lim Huey Ching argued that this advice was protected under legal privilege, a rule granting confidentiality to private communications between a lawyer and client.

However, High Court judge Hoo Sheau Peng dismissed Lim Huey Ching's contention, ruling that the in-house counsel was providing advice in her capacity as a director of Hin Leong Trading. Consequently, the judge agreed with prosecutors that the right to assert or waive legal privilege belonged solely to the company's liquidators. Additionally, the judge found that Lim Huey Ching's filing of the criminal revision application was not an appropriate method to challenge the district judge's decision.

Instead, any errors should be rectified through an appeal if she is ultimately convicted. Lim Oon Kuin, known as O.K. Lim, is currently serving a 13½-year prison sentence for a high-profile fraud case involving the use of false oil sale contracts to defraud HSBC of $111.6 million. He was also convicted of instructing a former employee to forge documents for one of the fraudulent contracts.