A 76 year old woman Madam Tan Teck Soon is suing her granddaughters Michelle Ng Li Xuan and Isabella Ng Su Xi for trying to sell the flat her lives in. Although Madam Tan is not the registered owner of the flat, she said that for 26 years, she was the one paying for the $277 HDB installment. In total she paid more than $117,000.
Her granddaughters who inherited the flat after their father passed away are trying to sell the flat. In order to stop them from making her homeless, she sued to stop the sale. She is represented by lawyer Chia Boon Teck on a pro-bono basis.
The flat in question was registered under Ng King Nguang's name, Madam Tan's son. This was based on the understanding that Ng and herself were the sole owners and she had paid for the initial $20,000 downpayment.
Madam Tan was the registered owner of the flat in 1992 but in 1999 the now deceased Mr Ng chalked up $100,000 in debts and needed a loan. In order to get money, Mr Ng told Madam Tan to sell him her share of the flat so he could get a HDB loan on the pretext of paying her.
From this "sale" Mr Ng used the money together with another $61,000 Madam Tan lent him, he cleared his debts.
She was registered as an owner of the flat in 1992, after the other flat was sold. But seven years later, Mr Ng chalked up about $100,000 in debts, she said. He then purportedly asked her for help. She said he wanted her to sell him her share of the flat so he could get an HDB loan on the pretext of paying her.
In Madam Tan's affidavit, she stated "I did not understand how they could sell the flat and throw me onto the streets when I had paid for the flat entirely single-handedly."
Both sisters have denied trying to sell the flat without Madam Tan's knowledge. Ms Michelle Ng disputed her grandmother's version of events and believed that her father was the one making all payments for the HDB. They had offered Madam Tan an alternative place to live - a Choa Chu Kang BTO with Isabella Ng.
Editor's Note:
Do you have a story to share? Please use our submission form or email us at editorial@allsingaporestuff.com. If not, why not give us a 'Like'?