ST : Top cop to police real estate agencies

Aug 31, 2010

Top cop to police real estate agencies

CPIB director to be seconded to help head new regulatory body

By Lester Kok

A TOP cop will help helm the new Council for Estate Agencies (CEA) - a regulatory body which is tasked to regulate the property agents.

Mr Soh Kee Hean, director of the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) since 2005, will be seconded to the Ministry of National Development (MND) to take up the position of deputy executive director (designate) of the CEA.

The new statutory board will be formed later this year and will take over the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore's (Iras) role in licensing real estate agencies and their agents.

CEA will have the power to investigate consumer complaints against housing agents and agencies, and will have the authority to mete out penalties, such as suspensions and fines.

Rogue housing agents have plagued the property market of late, with the Consumers Association of Singapore (Case) receiving an average of over 1,000 complaints a year.

In the first four months of this year, Case received 358 complaints. Last year, 1,079 cases were brought to its attention, while the figure was 1,100 in 2008.

Complaints ranged from agents failing to give proper advice and using misleading sales tactics, to the non-honouring of agreements. There were other questionable practices, such as agents taking commissions from both buyers and sellers of flats.

There are about 25,000 real estate agents and 1,700 agencies in Singapore.

When contacted, local real estate companies welcomed the news.

ERA Asia-Pacific associate director Eugene Lim felt that Mr Soh's new appointment will benefit the industry, by weeding out the crooks.

He said that as 'Mr Soh comes from a background dealing with corrupt practices', he believed the intention was to tackle the problem of 'shady agents'.

Likewise, PropNex chief executive Mohamed Ismail felt that this move showed the determination of the MND in ensuring that the new council 'will work effectively in upgrading the professionalism of the real estate industry'.

Mr Soh, a former deputy director of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) as well as a former commander of the Geylang Police Division, will be replaced by Mr Eric Tan Chong Sian.

Mr Tan, the commissioner of the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA), will relinquish his current position tomorrow and will take office as CPIB director on Oct 1.

When contacted, both Mr Soh and Mr Tan declined to comment as they have yet to take up their new roles.

Taking over Mr Tan will be Mr Clarence Yeo Gek Leong, the current deputy commissioner (operations) of ICA.

lesterk@sph.com.sg