Workers' Party (WP) MPs Sylvia Lim and Low Thia Khiang do not agree that they owe a special duty of care towards the Aljunied Hougang Town Council (AHTC) as fiduciaries or that they are liable for losses suffered by the council when it was under their watch, court documents show.

The duo, who were held accountable for improper payments made by the AHTC, aim to challenge the High Court's decision in the civil case brought against them by the town council.

The points of contention include that they owe fiduciary duties to the town council; that they are liable for compensation over certain sums paid by the council; that they are not protected from personal liability under the Town Councils Act; and that they have breached Rule 74 of the Town Councils Financial Rules on tender processes.

This is according to the notices of appeal they filed on Nov 11 together with a fellow Aljunied GRC MP, WP chief Pritam Singh, and AHTC town councillors Kenneth Foo Sek Guan and Chua Zhi Hon.

The notices suggest that they are launching an appeal that covers substantial parts of the decision by High Court Judge Kannan Ramesh.

A date for the Court of Appeal hearing has not been announced.

Justice Ramesh found them liable for losses suffered by the AHTC due to improper payments made under their watch.

He also found them liable for losses suffered by Pasir Ris-Punggol Town Council, which had also sued to recover its share of losses incurred when Punggol East constituency was managed by the WP-led town council from 2013 to 2015.

Justice Ramesh said in a judgment released on Oct 11 that Ms Lim and Mr Low had breached their fiduciary duty towards the town council, while Mr Singh, Mr Foo and Mr Chua had breached their duties of skill and care in awarding contracts to FM Solutions and Services (FMSS) and FM Solutions and Integrated Services (FMSI) without calling tenders.

Meanwhile, Pasir Ris-Punggol Town Council, which has also filed an appeal, is seeking to challenge the judge's decision that it will have to show how much damages it had suffered as a result of the actions of Ms Lim, Mr Low and the owners of FMSS and FMSI in order to determine how much compensation it can claim from them.

The owners of FMSS and FMSI - Ms How Weng Fan and representatives of her late husband Danny Loh - have also filed an appeal.

The civil suit had been initiated by an independent panel appointed by the AHTC to recover improper payments of around $33 million.