Parents suing son over house ownership
They say son is holding property in trust; he says it was a gift to him
By Selina Lum
A MARRIED couple are suing their younger son over a terrace house in Joo Chiat.
Mr Ang Kim Sai and Madam Ang Gim Yen, both 86, said they are the actual owners and that their son, Mr Ang Kok Beng, 57, is holding the property in trust for them. But the son contended that it was given to him when it was transferred to his name in 1983.
The double-storey house in Langsat Road was bought for about $100,000 in 1974 and valued at $2.5 million in 2009.
The 10-day hearing opened in the High Court yesterday.
Mr Ang Kim Sai, a former Chinese physician, and his wife, a former teacher, have four children, one of whom has died. The elder Mr Ang also has a child with his mistress.
At the time, the couple's understanding of the Housing Board policy was that they were prohibited from being registered as legal owners of the house because they already owned an HDB flat.
They decided to buy the house in the names of their elder son Ang Thye Peng and eldest daughter Ang Keng Hui.
They paid the entire purchase price, stamp fees and legal costs.
In 1977, the daughter's name was withdrawn because she wanted to buy an HDB flat with her own family.
In 1983, the elder son's name was withdrawn too and the house was transferred to Mr Ang Kok Beng.
Mr Ang Thye Peng testified in court yesterday that he moved out because his wife and his mother could not get along and his mother wanted to rent out the master bedroom of the house.
In February last year, the couple proposed in a note to Mr Ang Kok Beng, a sub-contractor, that the house be sold and he be given 46.6 per cent of the sale proceeds, with the rest distributed among the other siblings and grandchildren.
He refused and the couple instructed lawyers to start legal action against him.
It was then discovered that in December 2009, Mr Ang Kok Beng had applied for a replacement title certificate to be issued to him when he made a statutory declaration that he had lost the title deed.
The couple contended that, in doing so, he was wrongfully trying to "convert the property to his own".
Mr Ang Kok Beng asserted that when the property was transferred to his name, his mother "specifically told" him it was a gift as he was the youngest male child in the family.
The couple denied this and said there was no reason to give him the house, favouring him over the other children.
The couple argued that even after the property was registered in Mr Ang Kok Beng's name, the title deed and all other documents were kept by them.
Madam Ang also controlled all affairs relating to the house, like arranging payments for the maintenance, property tax and utilities. She also sought tenants and collected rent.
But Mr Ang Kok Beng contended that he agreed to allow his mother to collect rent and that the original title was kept with her for convenience.
He argued that if his parents intended for him to hold the house in trust for them, why had lawyers prepared a transfer document instead of a trust deed?
He also questioned why, if his mother still considered herself the beneficial owner of the house, she had not mentioned the property in a will she made in 1998.
The trial continues.
selinal@sph.com.sg
The house in Langsat Road was bought for about $100,000 in 1974 and valued at $2.5 million in 2009. -- ST PHOTO: SAMUEL HE
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