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Sentosa Cove condo developer: S$2m in claims ‘grossly inflated’

SINGAPORE — The developer of a posh Sentosa Cove condominium has said that plaintiffs suing over alleged “defects” on the property had demanded a “grossly inflated” S$2 million in claims for rectification work — 10 times the figure it arrived at.

SINGAPORE — The developer of a posh Sentosa Cove condominium has said that plaintiffs suing over alleged “defects” on the property had demanded a “grossly inflated” S$2 million in claims for rectification work — 10 times the figure it arrived at.

The developer, Ho Bee Cove, also contended in a media statement yesterday that most of the defects the 108 unhappy residents of The Coast @ Sentosa Cove had asked it to rectify were “not genuine ... but due to fair wear and tear or the lack of adequate and proper maintenance”.

Those that it was liable for, and had repeatedly offered to fix, would not cost more than S$200,000, it added, pointing out that “well-regarded and experienced professional building expert” Robinson Jones Associates — which it hired to make an independent assessment — came to the same conclusion.

The condo’s Management Corporation Strata Title (MCST) is suing Ho Bee Cove and three contractors for alleged “defects”, including termite-infested pool decking, flooded staircases in common areas and incorrectly-installed electrical fittings.

Completed in April 2009, The Coast boasts 249 units of three and four-bedroom apartments as well as luxury penthouses, 41 private berthing facilities and views of the South China Sea.

It is one of Ho Bee’s five developments on the exclusive enclave of Sentosa Cove.

The issue in contention centres on liability for the various defects.

The MCST thinks Ho Bee Cove was responsible for maintaining and keeping the common property of the condo in good repair before it handed over control in December 2010, while the developer counters, among other things, that it had discharged its duty of care by obtaining warranties for work by the relevant contractors.

The three other defendants in the suit are Kim Seng Heng Engineering Construction, Architects 61 and Bescon Consulting Engineers.

In its statement of claim filed on July 31, the MCST did not specify the amount it was suing for; leaving it to be assessed when the case goes to trial.

Other details leading up to the lawsuit were revealed in Ho Bee’s statement yesterday. The MCST demanded the developer fix defects on the property on Feb 26. Ho Bee Cove claimed that its “repeated offers” to fix the “genuine” defects were snubbed. The MCST was “non-responsive and non-committal to our offers”, it claimed. Things came to a head on Aug 5, when it was served with a writ of summons by the MCST.

Yesterday, Ho Bee Cove said it will “vigorously defend” the MCST’s claims, which it charges are “frivolous”.

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