Koh Keow Neo and Others v Chee Johnny and Others

• Jurisdiction: Singapore
• Judge: Lai Siu Chiu J
• Judgment Date: 06 May 2004
• Neutral Citation: [2004] SGHC 94
• Date: 06 May 2004
• Subject Matter: Whether actionable misrepresentation made out,Contract,Fiduciary relationships,Intention to create legal relations,Negligence,Duties,Ambit of duty owed to principal by gratuitous agent,Whether relationship of sufficient proximity established between gratuitous agent and principal,Whether informal updates sent to flat owners reflected intention to enter into legal relationship,Negligent misrepresentation,Tort,Duty of care,Equity,Section 2 Misrepresentation Act (Cap 390, 1994 Rev Ed),Misrepresentation act
• Docket Number: Suit No 715 of 2002
• Published date: 10 May 2004
• Defendant Counsel: Harry Elias SC, Michael Palmer, Howard Chen and Lynette Chew (Harry Elias Partnership),Alvin Yeo SC, Chou Sean Yu and Vanessa Lim (Wong Partnership)
• Court: High Court (Singapore)
• Plaintiff Counsel: Edwin Tay and Peter Ezekiel (Edwin Tay and Co)

6 May 2004 Judgment reserved.

Lai Siu Chiu J:

1 This suit revolves around a privatisation exercise, which went wrong, of Bedok Reservoir HUDC Estate (“the Estate”). The estate was privatised on 1 February 2000 and is now known as Waterfront View Condominium

The background

2 The Estate comprises of 583 flats in 13 blocks built by the Housing and Development Board (“HDB”), as a phase Ш HUDC estate in the 1980s. The abbreviation “HUDC” stands for Housing & Urban Development Corporation Pte Ltd. HUDC estates were built in the 1970s to cater to the housing needs of a “sandwich” class of Singaporeans, whose income overqualified them for ownership of HDB flats but was insufficient to enable them to purchase private housing. This was before the advent of executive condominium flats in 1995, also introduced by the HDB (but built by the private sector) to meet the public’s desire to own private property at more affordable prices. At the material time, all 79 plaintiffs were flat owners in the Estate, together with the first to fifth defendants. Carolyn Tan, R Ambika, Koh Sian Ann and Au Thye Chuen (the sixth to ninth defendants) were at the material time partners of the law firm known as Tan-Au Associates (“TAA”) which, on 10 February 2001, merged with another law firm Thomas Au & Lim to form Tan & Au Partnership (the tenth defendant).

3 In the mid-1990s, the government initiated a policy of privatising HUDC estates, with a view to converting all HUDC estates to private estates by 1998 (according to press reports). The intention (according to the written testimony of a HDB representative) was to allow HUDC residents to collectively upgrade their estates to a standard comparable to private residential estates, and thereby to enjoy the status and advantages of private property owners. Privatisation of HUDC estates could be effected, under (the amended) ss 126 and 126A of the Land Titles (Strata) Act (Cap 158, 1999 Rev Ed) (“the Act”), only if 75% or more of flat owners in an estate consented. However, the Act does not spell out precisely how the privatisation exercise should be carried out nor is there subsidiary legislation to assist. Neither did the HDB stipulate any mandatory procedures to be followed for the process. Upon privatisation, HUDC leases issued by the HDB are converted into strata titles under the Act, flat owners become subsidiary proprietors and are tenants-in-common of common property such as car parks, playgrounds, open areas and whatever other amenities that may have been built on the estate by the HDB. Management and running of the privatised estate is taken over from the HDB or Town Council as the case may be, by the management corporation formed under s 33 of the Act. The first HUDC estates to be privatised under the government policy were Gillman Heights and Pine Grove in 1995.

The facts

4 On or about 8 September 1996 at a block party held in the Estate, Matthias Yao, the then Senior Parliamentary Secretary of Defence and National Development, announced the privatisation of the Estate; this was followed by a gazette notification on 27 September 1996. The Ministry of National Development (“MND”) is in charge of the HDB.

5 Responding to the call by an adviser to the Kaki Bukit Grassroots Organisation for volunteers to join a pro-tem committee to co-ordinate the privatisation exercise, Johnny Chee (the first defendant) came forward. Later, Tang Se Kiong Adrian (the second defendant) and Liew Hiong Wah (the third defendant) also volunteered to be members. Subhash Chandra Mehta (the fifth defendant) joined the pro-tem committee in early 1997 but resigned in 1999 as its vice-chairman, when he moved out of the Estate. Ling Chwee Seng (the fourth defendant) joined the pro-tem committee in January 2000, after he moved into the Estate in 1999. Susan Ng (the tenth plaintiff) was also a member of the pro-tem at one time. So too were Francis Tan Seow Che (the 11th plaintiff), Syed Yahia Aljunied (the 20th plaintiff), Chong Kwen Sam (the 29th plaintiff), Khong Yueng Fung (the 31st plaintiff) and Adrienne Louise Pereira (the 40th plaintiff) at various other times. The first defendant served as the second vice-chairman of the pro-tem committee until he assumed the post of chairman, when the first chairperson, Cheong Wai Yin, resigned around March 1997.

6 The pro-tem committee, which was considered an informal grassroots organisation, initially came under the auspices of the Eunos Constituency secretariat but in 1997, it was transferred to the charge of the secretariat of the Kampong Kembangan constituency. Members of the pro-tem committee had to be approved and were advised by the constituency’s Member of Parliament (“MP”) which in this case was and still is George Yeo, currently the Minister of Trade and Industry. The role of a pro-tem committee in a privatisation exercise of an HUDC estate was contained in an information package (“the Information Package”) issued by the HDB. Essentially, the pro-tem committee was, inter alia, to:

(a) act as the flat owners’ representative in the privatisation process in consulting the HDB and other government bodies;

(b) inform the HDB, the relevant Town Councils and other authorities of the flat owners’ views;

(c) keep flat owners informed of the status quo of privatisation;

(d) appoint solicitors to act in the privatisation process.

7 Apart from being pro-tem committee members, flat owners could also assist in the privatisation exercise by becoming block representatives ie each block in the Estate had a representative who served as the liaison between the pro-tem committee and flat owners of the block that appointed him. The articles and objects of the pro-tem committee of the Estate were approved at its third meeting held on 1 October 1996. The pro-tem committee received no funding from the HDB or any government or grassroots organisation and its members were not paid. Members of the pro-tem committee held meetings amongst themselves, and also with flat owners, relating to the privatisation exercise. After such meetings, newsletters (by way of “updates”) were distributed to all flat owners to apprise them on developments as well as seek their views on the privatisation exercise as well as on the general welfare of the Estate.

8 Between late 1996 and early 2002, the pro-tem committee issued 16 updates to the Estate’s flat owners. Before the updates were distributed to flat owners, drafts were first submitted for approval to Kampong Kembangan Constituency Secretariat. The updates would also go the HDB and the MP. In the first update dated 20 October 1996, the pro-tem committee explained the meaning of privatisation, set out its pros and cons and estimated that the cost would be about $25,000 per flat. Notice was also given that a mandate exercise would be carried out to obtain the views of flat owners on privatisation.

9 On 11 November 1996, the pro-tem committee distributed an informal survey form to the Estate’s flat owners to obtain their feedback on the privatisation exercise. By 23 July 1997 (when the third update was issued) the pro-tem committee had obtained the results of the informal survey. Of the 40% flat owners who responded, 79% were in favour of privatisation.

10 In September 1997, members of the pro-tem committee took active steps to garner support for privatisation of the Estate by making door-to-door visits to every household, usually on weekends and Friday evenings. Notice of the pro-tem committee’s proposed visits was given in the fourth update dated 10 September 1997. By the date of the fifth update (10 December 1997), the door-to-door visits had taken place and the pro-tem committee’s mission was accomplished – there was overwhelming support for privatisation. In the fifth update, it was announced that the mandate exercise would be held on Sunday 22 February 1998 and lawyers would be appointed to take care of the legal aspects. The mandate procedure had been explained in the fourth update which stated under item 7:

The committee has set the voting target date to be in Feb 1998 or at the latest Mar 1998. All lessees of a unit in the estate must sign a legal document indicating their approval or disapproval. Those who are unable to sign the legal document personally must obtain the power of attorney to authorise someone to act for them. A mandate of more than 75% of all households approving privatisation is required for the estate to be privatised.

11 In preparation for the mandate exercise, the second defendant and the pro-tem committee’s secretary (Jeanie Hoon) were tasked with finding a law firm. After obtaining quotations from three law firms, the pro-tem committee decided to and did appoint TAA by a letter dated 5 January 1998. The pro-tem committee’s choice was based not only on the competitive quotation received from the law firm but on the track record of TAA; they had acted previously in the privatisation of the HUDC estate at Jurong East. According to the written testimony of the sixth defendant, TAA had also acted in the privatisation exercise of Hougang South as well as of Farrer Court, both HUDC estates. The pro-tem committee informed flat owners in the Estate of TAA’s appointment in the sixth update dated 6 February 1998. The relevant extract (item 2) of that update states:

Mandate for Privatisation: Voting is on Sunday 22^nd February 1998

The Pro-Tem committee seeks the mandate for privatisation from all lessees on the 22^nd Feb 1998. We have appointed the lawyers from Tan-Au and Associates to witness and validate the voting. There will be two voting sites – arranged for your convenience – void decks of blocks 727 (for lessees of blocks 726-732) and 738 (for lessees of blocks 733-738). Voting starts at 8 am and ends around 5 pm. For successful privatisation, 75% of residents must vote in favour of privatisation. Voting will be done by signing a consent form in front of a lawyer. … If you are physically out of town for a...