Kopitiam founder sues contractor over ‘abandoned’ works on his Whitley Road property

Published Sep 15, 2026, 06:19 PM

Updated Sep 15, 2026, 06:19 PM

Lim Bee Huat, founder of Kopitiam, is suing Tiandi ACMV Engineering for abandoning construction and leaving defective works on two houses at Whitley Road, seeking damages.

Tiandi denies liability, claims completion of contracted work, alleges later illegal construction to increase floor area, and countersues for $1.14 million unpaid under the contract.

The dispute involves incomplete works since 2019, with Lim's family moving out in 2022; trial started Sept 14 and is ongoing, highlighting a major contractual and construction conflict.

SINGAPORE - Lim Bee Huat, the founder of food court chain Kopitiam, has sued a contractor for abandoning the construction on two adjacent houses at Whitley Road, leaving behind incomplete and defective works.

Lim is seeking damages for the cost to complete the construction and rectify the defects, which has been assessed by an independent expert at nearly $456,000.

The businessman is also seeking damages for loss of use of the property from mid-2022 onwards, at a monthly rental rate of more than $21,000.

The defendant, Tiandi ACMV Engineering, denied that it is liable for the purported defects, and contended that it has finished the works it was contracted to complete.

The firm asserted that it was not involved in the works which resulted in the “Frankenstein house”.

It alleged that these works were later carried out with the intention to illegally increase the gross floor area.

Tiandi has counterclaimed against Lim for an outstanding sum of $1.14 million due under the $3.5 million contract.

A trial for the High Court suit began on Sept 14 and is scheduled to run till Oct 15.

Lim famously began cleaning tables at coffee shops for $1 a night when he was nine years old, before he set up his first stall at the old Esplanade ground at the age of 18.

He grew Kopitiam into a network of more than 80 outlets across Singapore, before the business was sold to NTUC Enterprise in 2018 .

The current dispute revolves around the building and construction works at his Whitley Road property in the prime District 11.

According to court documents, the 634.4 sqm property is made up of two adjacent parcels of land.

Lim initially owned one parcel, on which sits an existing house. He acquired the second parcel in early 2012.

His plan was to build a new house to replace the existing one, and a second house on the other parcel of land.

In 2014, his employee, Per Poh Huat, recommended Pek Han Kok to be the contractor for the project.

Pek was the owner of Tiandi as well as a company called Future Innovation & Construction.

Lim engaged Future Innovation to carry out the works, which began in April 2016.

In 2017, Tiandi took over as the contractor for the project. The completion date under the contract was June 7, 2019.

In January 2019, Lim and his family moved into the first house, but the second house was never occupied.

The Temporary Occupation Permit (TOP) was issued in August 2019, but the works remained incomplete, he said.

“Tiandi remained on site and continued carrying out works in (both houses),” stated Lim’s opening statement.

The Certificate of Statutory Completion was issued in September 2020.

In May 2021, Lim discovered that the works had been abandoned, and wrote to Pek to demand that the works be completed and rectified.

He and his family moved out in mid-2022. Since then, both houses have been unoccupied.

Lim, who is represented by Ng Kim Beng from Rajah & Tann, contended that Tiandi was in breach of contract by failing to complete the works and rectify the defective works.

The businessman added that Tiandi was the only party he contracted to carry out the works in the project.

He also asserted that Tiandi’s counterclaim should be dismissed.

Lim said he had paid, through his employee Per, at least $6.4 million, which exceeded the contract sum.

Tiandi, which is represented by Alfred Lim of Meritus Law, contended that there were two phases of construction works.

The company said it completed the first phase, which was approved by the authorities, with multiple structural and architectural drawings submitted.

“The second phase was not carried out by Tiandi. The second phase was carried out illegally. There were no drawings approved by the authorities,” said the defendant’s opening statement.

Selina Lum is senior law correspondent at The Straits Times.

发布于 2026 年 9 月 15 日下午 6:19

更新于2026年9月15日下午6:19

Kopitiam 创始人林美发起诉天地 ACMV 工程公司，指控其弃工并留下 Whitley Road 两栋房屋的缺陷工程，要求赔偿损失。

天地否认承担责任，声称已完成合同工程，指控后来非法施工以增加楼面面积，并反诉对方未支付合同项下的 114 万美元。

该纠纷涉及自 2019 年以来未完成的工程，林家将于 2022 年搬出；审判于 9 月 14 日开始，目前仍在进行中，凸显了重大的合同和施工冲突。

新加坡——美食广场连锁店 Kopitiam 的创始人林美发起诉了一名承包商，指控其弃工于 Whitley Road 上两栋相邻房屋的建设，留下未完成且有缺陷的工程。

林某要求赔偿完成施工和修复缺陷的费用，经独立专家评估，费用接近 456,000 美元。

该商人还要求赔偿自 2022 年年中起因无法使用该房产而造成的损失，每月租金超过 21,000 美元。

被告天地ACMV工程有限公司否认对所谓的缺陷负有责任，并辩称其已完成合同约定的工程。

该公司声称，它没有参与建造“弗兰肯斯坦之家”的工程。

据称，这些工程后来是为了非法增加建筑总面积而进行的。

天地公司已对林某提起反诉，要求其支付根据350万美元合同应支付的114万美元未付款项。

高等法院诉讼案的审理于9月14日开始，预计将持续到10月15日。

林先生九岁时就开始在咖啡店擦桌子，每晚挣 1 美元，后来 18 岁时在旧滨海艺术中心广场摆了自己的第一个摊位，这在当时是出了名的。

他将 Kopitiam 发展成为在新加坡拥有 80 多家分店的连锁企业，之后于 2018 年将公司出售给了 NTUC Enterprise。

目前的争议围绕着他在黄金地段第 11 区惠特利路房产的建筑和施工工程展开。

根据法庭文件，这处占地 634.4 平方米的房产由两块相邻的土地组成。

林先生最初拥有一块地，上面有一栋房子。他在2012年初购入了第二块地。

他的计划是建造一座新房子来取代现有的房子，并在另一块地上建造第二座房子。

2014 年，他的员工 Per Poh Huat 推荐 Pek Han Kok 作为该项目的承包商。

Pek 是天地集团的所有者，同时也是一家名为未来创新建设公司的所有者。

林先生聘请了未来创新公司进行这项工程，该工程于 2016 年 4 月开始。

2017年，天地集团接手该项目，成为承建商。合同规定的竣工日期为2019年6月7日。

2019 年 1 月，林和他的家人搬进了第一栋房子，但第二栋房子一直无人居住。

他说，临时占用许可证（TOP）于2019年8月签发，但工程仍未完工。

林在开场白中表示：“天地公司仍留在现场，继续在（两栋房屋）进行施工。”

法定竣工证书于2020年9月颁发。

2021 年 5 月，林先生发现工程已经停工，于是写信给白先生，要求完成并纠正工程。

他和家人于 2022 年年中搬出。自那以后，这两栋房子一直空置。

林先生由 Rajah & Tann 律师事务所的 Ng Kim Beng 代表，他辩称天地公司违反合同，未能完成工程并纠正缺陷工程。

这位商人补充说，天地是他唯一签约承建该项目工程的公司。

他还声称，天地的反诉应该被驳回。

林先生表示，他已通过其雇员佩尔支付了至少 640 万美元，超过了合同金额。

天地公司由 Meritus Law 的 Alfred Lim 代表，辩称该建设工程分两个阶段进行。

该公司表示，第一阶段已经完成，并已获得有关部门批准，提交了多张结构和建筑图纸。

被告在开庭陈述中表示：“第二阶段工程并非由天地公司承建，而是非法进行的，没有任何经有关部门批准的图纸。”

Selina Lum是《海峡时报》的资深法律记者。