TODAY Online : Man has no case to stop en-bloc sale

Man has no case to stop en-bloc sale

05:55 AM Mar 03, 2010

by Zul Othman

SINGAPORE - As the lone objector to an en bloc sale, he defied his neighbours and the Strata Titles Board and made a bid to stop the sale of the property in Koon Seng Road.

But his suit was thrown out by the Court of Appeal yesterday - because Singapore's highest court questioned Mr Goh Teh Lee's legal right to object to the sale as he was only a co-owner of the apartment.

Despite Mr Goh's insistence that he had a "very strong case", Justice Chao Hick Tin said he was "very doubtful" of Mr Goh's argument after considering the evidence.

Therefore, the court ruled that the 53-year-old had no locus standi or standing to carry the suit forward.

While he was not ordered to pay any costs, Mr Goh will have to fork out $3,000 to cover the en bloc sales committee's expenses.

According to court documents, Mr Goh said there were discrepancies in the collective sale agreement, such as signatures that were obtained fraudulently.

Mr Goh believed his status as co-owner could stop the sale if his appeal succeeded. However, Justice Andrew Phang thought otherwise, and said: "Between you and your ex-wife, you have to act unanimously ... besides, your ex-wife's rights also have to prevail. She is just like you - a joint owner."

Mr Goh and his ex-wife, Madam Sng Siok Ching, bought the apartment in 1997 for $610,000, court documents revealed. The couple divorced sometime last year.

Earlier, Mr Goh had told the court that even though they were co-owners, he owned 60 per cent of the property. Mdm Sng also did not make any monetary contribution to the apartment, he argued.

MediaCorp understands that the couple were offered $642,424.24 for the apartment but Mr Goh objected to the sale while Mdm Sng gave her consent.

Previously, Mr Goh had told the High Court it was unfair for the purchase price of $21.12 million to be divided equally among the 33 units.

But in his submissions, lawyer Leong Kwok Yan - who is representing the sales committee - argued that the collective sale scheme was based on the use of notional shares that were apportioned to the apartments. Hence, no distinction was made between the co-owners of each flat and if there were more than one co-owner to a flat, all must agree.

"To allow Mr Goh to object would be to disregard the interests of Mdm Sng altogether," wrote the lawyer.

The collective sale of the houses and apartments was mooted at a residents' meeting in November 2006.

The property consists of 24 apartments in a four-storey block - known as Koon Seng House - and 9 pre-war terrace houses on the same plot of freehold land. En-bloc proceedings have been delayed for three years following Mr Goh's legal action against the en-bloc sales committee.

When contacted by MediaCorp later, Mr Goh said he respected the court's decision but declined to comment further. He added that he would abide by the court's ruling and sell his apartment.

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