Tussle over Katong houses

Tussle over Katong houses

High Court to determine whether two properties should be returned to mother and son

Tuesday • May 6, 2008

Ansley Ng
ansley@mediacorp.com.sg

ALMOST 30 years ago, when Mr Loo Chay Sit (right) was going through a divorce after just a few years of marriage, he transferred a piece of newly-bought property at Margate Road near Katong to the name of his younger brother Chay Loo.

Years later, in 1986, his mother, Mdm Tan Chan Tee, registered another property — in Seraya Lane, also in Katong — in the name of Chay Loo's wife, Madam Chen Tsui Yu (far right).

Now, Mdm Tan, 80, and her elder son, who is 57, is suing Mdm Chen, 53, to recover the two homes, following Chay Loo's death in San Francisco in May 2005 at the age of 51. Earlier, he had tried to commit suicide while in police custody, following an apparent murder-and-suicide bid (see box).

Following his death, both Mdm Tan and Mr Loo secured default judgments which transferred both properties back to them. Mr Loo then sold the Margate Road house for $4.8 million.

However, a year later, both judgments were set aside.

The case is now before the High Court for Justice Judith Prakash to determine who had bought and paid for the two properties and if the properties should be returned to Mr Loo and his mother.

In his opening statement, Mr Loo's lawyer Low Chai Chong said his client bought the Margate Road property in 1978 for $195,000 using his own funds, but later transferred it to his younger brother's name when he was going through a divorce.

Said Mr Low: "Loo Chay Loo knew that the house was conveyed in his name only for the sake of convenience. He did not pay for the house or make any contribution towards the purchase price at all."

In transferring ownership of the home to his younger brother before his divorce came through, Mr Loo had not broken any laws since the courts at that time would not divide assets because of the brevity of the marriage, said Mr Low.

The Seraya Lane property, he added, was transferred to Mdm Chen at her husband's suggestion.

Countering, Mdm Chen's lawyer, Mr Daniel Tan, said the Seraya Lane property was conveyed in his client's name after Mdm Chen and her late husband approached Mdm Tan in 1987 for help to raise a sum of money when they were setting up a travel agency.

The mother has to-date not produced any documentary evidence to support her claim that she paid for the Seraya property, said Mr Tan.

The property, he added, had in fact been sold to Mdm Chen in April 1987 for $550,000.

The older Mr Loo has never demanded for a transfer of the Margate Road property to himself when his younger brother was alive, the lawyer added.

"It was only when the deceased fell into a coma that Mr Loo hastily commenced proceedings and claimed that the Margate Road property was held in trust for him," said Mr Tan. "His sudden claim is not only baseless and unsupported by evidence, but also suspect and lacking in good faith."

Both Mdm Chen and Mr Loo were in court yesterday but exchanged few glances. Mdm Tan was not in court. The hearing is set for 10 days.

Copyright MediaCorp Press Ltd. All rights reserved.

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