Couple suing condo developer for fraud gets counter-sued
SINGAPORE — A Singaporean couple suing a condominium developer for fraud over 20 sq m of space is being sued in turn.
SINGAPORE — A Singaporean couple suing a condominium developer for fraud over 20 sq m of space is being sued in turn.
Mr Poh Her Chiew and Ms Ling Mee Chow, both in their 40s, claim the developer misled them into thinking they were buying an executive condominium unit with a floor area of 167 sq m at Blossom Residences. They said the actual area should be 147 sq m, as there is 20 sq m worth of space rendered void.
The unit was priced at S$1.12 million.
Blossom Residences is a project that is still under construction by Grand Isle Holdings, a subsidiary of City Developments Limited (CDL).
The couple’s lawsuit states that the developer and its estate agent, ERA, had left out the fact about the void space in the sale brochure and documents bundled with the Option to Purchase (OTP). It said the issue was only revealed several weeks later in the Sale & Purchase agreement.
The couple then chose not to exercise the OTP and sued the developer. They wanted to seek repeal of the OTP and damages for wasted expenses and opportunity loss.
Their income has risen higher than the S$12,000 ceiling and this means they are ineligible to buy an alternative executive condominium unit.
While this lawsuit is to be heard in the High Court from Wednesday (Oct 23), the defendant is expected to bring a counterclaim against the buyers on the same day. This is for under-declaring their monthly income by S$370.
The lawyer representing the developer is expected to ask the court to rule that the buyers forfeit the entire sum of Option Monies of more than S$56,000.
This includes the S$42,000 refunded to the buyers when they did not exercise the OTP.
“The Developer is now seeking the return of the entire sum of S$42,037.50 which it had refunded to the couple as it is entitled and permitted to, under the HDB rules because of the couple’s false declaration,” said a CDL spokesperson in a statement today, issued on behalf of Grand Isle Holdings.
The buyers are represented by Vijay Kumar Rai of Arbiters Inc Law Corporation, and the developer by Senior Counsel Ang Cheng Hock of Allen & Gledhill. CHANNEL NEWSASIA
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