Per Ah Seng Robin and another v Housing and Development Board and another
Judge | Tay Yong Kwang J |
Judgment Date | 22 December 2014 |
Neutral Citation | [2014] SGHC 270 |
Citation | [2014] SGHC 270 |
Docket Number | Originating Summons No 440 of 2014 |
Published date | 30 December 2015 |
Hearing Date | 06 November 2014,31 October 2014 |
Plaintiff Counsel | Kirpal Singh s/o Hakam Singh (Kirpal & Associates) |
Date | 22 December 2014 |
Defendant Counsel | Khoo Boo Jin, Ang Ming Sheng Terence and Kanesh Balasubramaniam (Attorney-General's Chambers),Dhillon Dinesh Singh and Teh Shi Ying (Allen & Gledhill LLP) |
Court | High Court (Singapore) |
Subject Matter | Natural Justice,Administrative Law,Judicial Review |
This originating summons (“OS 440/2014”) was brought by the applicants, Robin Per Ah Seng (“Mr Per”) and Tee Bee Kiaw (“Mdm Tee”) (referred to collectively as “the Applicants”), for leave to file an application for a quashing order in respect of four decisions made by the respondents, the Housing and Development Board (“HDB”) and the Minister for National Development (“the Minister”) (referred to collectively as “the Respondents”). The Minister was represented by the Attorney General. Three of the four decisions were made by HDB while one was made by the Minister. The decisions sought to be impugned by the Applicants were as follows:
The parties first came before me on 31 October 2014. After hearing the parties’ submissions, I adjourned the hearing for the Applicants to request, on an urgent basis, the record of changes in the Applicants’ address with the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (“ICA”). The ICA provided the details on 5 November 2014 and the parties appeared before me again on 6 November 2014. After hearing further arguments concerning the information provided by the ICA, I dismissed the present application on the basis that it was made beyond the three-month period set out in O 53 r 1(6) of the Rules of Court (Cap 322, R 5, 2014 Rev Ed) (“RC”) and also that the Applicants failed on the substantive merits of the case. The Applicants have appealed against my decision. I now set out the grounds for my decision.
The facts The purchase and the subletting of the PropertyThe Applicants purchased the Property on 1 October 2007 for $368,000 under the HDB’s Public Scheme. A concessionary interest rate loan was provided by HDB in the amount of $288,000.
On 21 January 2009, the Applicants entered into a corporate tenancy agreement with Offshore Construction Specialist Pte Ltd (“Offshore Construction”) for the subletting of two bedrooms at a rate of $2,050 per month. The period of the lease was 24 months commencing on 1 February 2009 and ending on 31 January 2011.
The inspection of the PropertyOn 23 December 2009, HDB received an anonymous tip-off alleging that the Applicants were subletting the entire flat. The informant also claimed that the Applicants were residing in a condominium known as the Blue Horizon.
On 25 May 2010, officers from the HDB conducted an inspection of the Property. During the inspection, a signed statement was obtained from one Mr Sayeh Dedi Mahdy (“Mr Sayeh”), an employee of Offshore Construction residing in the Property at that point in time. For ease of reference, the contents of the statement are reproduced below:
1. I have rented the above flat from the owners since Feb 2009 till date.
2. I am occupying the flat with 2 other flatmates.
3. The monthly rental is paid by my employer.
4. The monthly utilities bills are paid by my employer.
5. The owners did not reside in the flat.
Mr Wong Yew Wah (“Mr Wong”), one of the HDB officers who conducted the inspection, filed an affidavit with the following observations concerning the state of the Property:
Based on the evidence it had gathered thus far, HDB was of the view that there were sufficient grounds to establish that the Applicants were not residing in the Property. A letter of intention dated 17 July 2010 (“the letter of intention”) was sent by post to the Applicants with the following contents:
Our investigations revealed that you have sublet your flat to Mr Sayeh Dedi Mahdy ... and his 2 flatmates from the month of Feb 09 without HDB’s prior written consent and that you and your family are not in continuous physical occupation of the flat. This is a breach of the terms of the flat lease and an infringement under section 56(1) of [the Act].
... The HDB is thus intending to
compulsorily acquire your flat for the infringement under s 56(1)(h) of the [the Act].All payments received by the HDB from you shall be strictly on a without prejudice basis and all our rights of action against you are hereby strictly reserved . In the meantime, please take immediate steps to evict the unauthorised occupiers/unauthorised sub-tenant from your flat.[emphasis in original]
Given the lack of response from the Applicants, HDB proceeded to serve a notice of intention by pasting it on the main door of the Property on 6 October 2010. The relevant portions of the notice are set out below:
Please take notice that pursuant to Section 56(1)(h) of [the Act], the [HDB] intends to compulsorily acquire the above flat on the ground that you have sublet your flat without obtaining prior written consent of HDB.
The [HDB] has further decided that the compensation payable for the acquisition of the above flat shall be the sum of $286,500.00. ...
Your attention is drawn to sub-sections (4), (5) and (6) of Section 56 of [the Act]. The sub-sections are printed overleaf for your information.
YOUR ATTENTION IS ALSO DRAWN TO THE NOTE PRINTED OVERLEAF. [emphasis in original]
On 28 October 2010, the Applicants sent a letter of objection to HDB pursuant to s 56(4) of the Act. The Applicants made the following points in the letter of objection:
The Applicants also enclosed a copy of the tenancy agreement and the registration of the particulars of the occupiers.
The rejection by HDBIn a letter dated 29 November 2010, HDB informed the Applicants that their appeal was unsuccessful. The Applicants were also informed that under s 56(6) of the Act, HDB would proceed to vest legal ownership of the Property in itself in the event that no further appeal was made to the Minister within 28 days from the date of service of the letter of rejection. Apart from that, HDB further emphasised that subletting of the whole flat without HDB’s prior approval was an infringement of the lease and the Act. In this respect, HDB stated that proprietors “who commit the infringement are liable to have their flat compulsorily acquired”.
The letter of appeal to the MinisterBy way of a letter dated 27 December 2010, the Applicants exercised their right of further appeal to the Minister under s 56(6) of the Act. In this letter, the Applicants stated that the breach was a one-off incident and that they did not commit the breach with the intention of taking advantage of government-subsidised flats for personal financial gain. The Applicants emphasised that they had purchased the Property from the resale market and that no government grant had been obtained for the purchase. Apart from that, the Applicants stated that they had rectified the breach immediately by terminating the tenancy and that the occupiers had since vacated the Property. The Applicants also mentioned that they would accept any form of penalty on account of the breach but the compulsory acquisition of the Property was “too harsh”. Finally, the Applicants appealed for compassion in the hope that the Minister would take into consideration the reason behind their temporary move to the mother’s home due to her poor health.
The rejection by the MinisterBy way of a letter dated 14 March 2011, HDB informed the Applicants that their appeal to the Minister under s 56(6) of the Act was unsuccessful. It was further stated that...
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