Surprise ruling vindicates stand of minority owners
By
Joyce Teo, Property Correspondent
One of Singapore's longest-running property dispute has ended with the Court of Appeal's hard-hitting ruling. -- ST PHOTO: JOSEPH NAIR
THE Court of Appeal halted the contentious Horizon Towers collective sale once and for all on Thursday with a hard-hitting ruling that singled out the estate's sales committee for scathing criticism.
The dramatic judgment caught many by surprise and vindicated the four sets of minority owners who opposed the sale from day one - about 3-1/2 years ago, when the idea was first mooted - and spent nearly $1.5 million in legal costs.
THE OBJECTORS
FOUR sets of minority owners lasted the full distance to see yesterday's final victory in overturning the Horizon Towers sale.
Those left standing after the marathon battle were Madam Ong Sioe Hong, Mr Hendra Gunawan and his wife, Mr Ng Eng Ghee, and Mr Rudy Darmawan, his wife and aunt.
THE Court of Appeal on Thursday reversed the sale of Horizon Towers, ending a 2 1/2-year battle over the estate's collective sale. Chief Justice Chan Sek Keong and Judges of Appeal Andrew Phang and V. K. Rajah found that the condo's sales committee had breached its duties to unit owners and that the Strata Titles Board (STB) and High Court judge Choo Han Teck had erred in allowing the sale. The original sales committee comprised chairman Arjun Samtani, secretary Wee Hian Siew, and members Tan Kah Gee, Henry Lim, Bharat Mandloi, Claude Reghenzani, Dr Chan Siew Chee, Shahrukh Marfatia and George Eapen. These are the main points of the judgment.
One of those owners, Mr Hendra Gunawan, told The Straits Times ion Thursday: 'I am very happy that at last we can protect our homes.'
'We can't do anything about it if 80 per cent agree to sell but they have to do it properly so that everyone's home will be sold at a proper price.'
Industry experts are also hailing the decision as a landmark judgment that will set clear parameters for en bloc deals.
Thursday's ruling was clear in its condemnation of the way the en bloc process was conducted and was particularly critical of the estate's sales committee.
Among a litany of criticism, it pointed to the committee's failure to follow up on a higher offer for the estate, its undue haste in agreeing to a sale price in a rising market and its sloppy procedures in appointing a marketing agent and keeping owners up to speed on the transaction.
But perhaps the most serious censure was directed at its failure to take heed of a possible conflict of interest that arose when two owners bought additional units in the estate just before they were appointed to the sales committee.
'The sale committee's duty is to achieve the best price under the circumstances, and not just a fair price,' said Mr Karamjit Singh, managing director of Credo Real Estate, which has handled many collective sales but not that of Horizon Towers.
The Strata Titles Board, which backed the sale, was also criticised for the way it took too much at face value - whether opinions on price or legal points - when it should have been more questioning. It was also rapped for not being more vigilant on the possible conflict of interest issue regarding sales committee members.
Read the full story in today's edition of The Straits Times.
