ISSUES:
1. Is Beehun binded to Kuey Teow?
2. Can Beehun sell his house to his aunty?
SOLUTION:
1. According to general principal S4 (1), communication of acceptance
is effective only when it is communicated. According to the case of
ENTORES LTD V MILES FAR EAST CORPORATION, the court ruled
that when a contract is made by post, acceptance is only complete
when the offeree has put the letter into the mail box. Therefore, the
offeror is not binded to the offeree until the accpetance is made. We
can conclude that the postal rule applies to email from the case of
Chwee Kin Keong V Digilandmall.com Pte Ltd whereby the court ruled
that unlike fax or a telephone call, email is not instantaneous. Emails
are processed through servers, routers and internet service
providers. Similarly to the case above, Beehun is not binded to Kuey
Teow until Kuey Teow accepts the offer and sends the acceptance to
Beehun. Acceptance by email, similar to acceptance by post only
makes Beehun binded to Kuey Teow once he sends the email.
Therefore, Beehun is not binded to Kuey Teow when he sold the
house to his Aunty. According to Section 4(2) (a), communication of
acceptance is complete when it is transmitted to the offeree and
according to section 4(2) (b), acceptance is complete when offeror
knows it. This can be seen in the case of Byrne V Vantienhoven, the
judge made a verdict that when an offer is made and accepted
through post, contract was completely concluded once the letter of
acceptance had been posted, even though the letter did not reach its
destination.
Application: However, due to the fact that Kuey Teow only sent his
email after the house was sold, Beehun is not binded to Kuey Teow
because the offer was accepted by a different party, in this case, his
aunty.
2. If Kuey Teow had sent the email on the day instructed, Beehun would
be binded to him and not be able to sell the house to his aunty. Based
on the case of Byrne V Vantienhoven, the judge ruled that when an
offer is made and accepted through post, contract was completely
concluded once the letter of acceptance had been posted, even
though the letter did not reach its destination. We can apply this
same verdict when using e mail, where if Kuey Teow had emailed
Beehun before he sold the house to his aunty, Kuey Teow has
sufficient elements to sue Beehun for breaching the contract.
Thefore, Beehun can sell his house to his aunty, and Kuey Teow
cannot do anything about it.