The High Court of Zimbabwe has cleared the way for the enforcement of a Singaporean asset-freezing order against two Singaporean nationals residing in the country, marking a significant victory for international asset recovery efforts.
In a judgment issued on April 9, 2026, Justice Wamambo ruled in favour of Singaporean investor Ser Kang Wei and his British Virgin Islands-incorporated vehicle, Lucent Trading Limited.
The court granted their application to register a foreign judgment against husband and wife Yong Khong Yoong Mark and Emily Hwang Mei Chen, both of whom are permanent residents of Zimbabwe with extensive local business interests.
The legal battle centres on a Mareva Injunction—a powerful judicial tool used to prevent the dissipation of assets—originally issued by the High Court of Singapore in July 2025.
The respondents had vigorously opposed the registration of this order in Zimbabwe, raising technical and substantive legal hurdles.
The respondents first raised a preliminary objection regarding "non-joinder," arguing that the failure to include a third party named in the Singaporean order, Salas Porras Carlos Luis, was "fatal" to the application.
They contended that the Zimbabwean court was essentially being asked to amend a foreign order by excluding one of the parties.
Wamambo dismissed this argument, citing the High Court Rules of 2021, which state that no matter shall be defeated by the misjoinder or non-joinder of any party.
The judge said since Salas had no known proprietary interests in Zimbabwe, the court would have no means of enforcing an order against him, rendering his inclusion unnecessary.
The core of the dispute rested on whether the Singaporean order was "final" enough to be registered under Zimbabwean common law.
Under these principles, a foreign judgment is only enforceable if it is final and conclusive in its effect.
The respondents argued that because the original order was a Mareva Injunction—expressly stated to remain operational "until trial or further order"—it remained interlocutory and therefore ineligible for registration.
However, Wamambo found that the nature of the order had shifted following a contested hearing in Singapore in December 2025.
He said the Singaporean court had dismissed the respondents’ application to discharge the injunction and had explicitly authorised the applicants to seek its registration in Zimbabwe.
"The answer as to whether or not a judgment or order is final lay, not in the nature of the order but in its effect," the judge said, echoing previous Supreme Court precedents.
He concluded that because the injunction had been confirmed after detailed submissions on its merits, it was "final and definitive" regarding the assets in question.
By registering the Singaporean order, the Zimbabwean court has ensured that the respondents’ local assets remain subject to the terms of the original injunction while the main litigation proceeds.
The court ordered the respondents to pay the applicants' legal costs. The respondents have reportedly approached the Supreme Court of Singapore for leave to appeal the underlying judgment.
Yong, a Singaporean national whose career has been defined by high-stakes legal battles across the globe, was in the spotlight last month when he was arrested in Zimbabwe following a high-profile alleged mining investment fraud.
The arrest marked the latest chapter for a man whose name has frequently appeared in headlines linked to multimillion-dollar gold scams and sophisticated financial schemes.
Yong was intercepted by police at the Norton tollgate while traveling in a black Lexus SUV with three other individuals.
Following his arrest, authorities conducted a search of his residence in the upscale Borrowdale suburb of Harare, where they allegedly recovered approximately 10 grammes of suspected gold nuggets.
Yong was also charged for allegedly swindling a Chinese businessman of US$1.3 million in a botched mining deal in Zimbabwe. He is expected to appear in court this week.