NG SUM CHOI v. NG HONG NING

1998, No. MP472

IN THE HIGH COURT OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATION REGION

COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE

MISCELLANEOUS PROCEEDINGS NO. 472 OF 1998

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J U D G M E N T

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1. I am satisfied that I should grant an order in terms of the Originating Summons. The mortgage here was recorded in the Block Crown Lease of 1905 but the evidence here is that the Plaintiff and his family have been in possession of the property for some 37 years without any demands made from the mortgagee or any persons on behalf of the mortgagee, nor has any acknowledgement been made by the Plaintiff or his predecessors of their liability under the mortgage.

2. I am satisfied that substituted service was correctly effected as there were no means of finding the whereabouts of the mortgagee.

3. I am further satisfied that the matter is not purely hypothetical because an owner has a vested interest in clearing his title and the Plaintiff is the legal and beneficial owner of the property in this case. Accordingly, I would grant an order in terms of the Originating Summons with no order as to costs.