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The Law Society refers to the letter by Mr Heng Cho Choon, ‘Law Society should pay clients of errant lawyers’ (ST, Aug 25).

Mr Heng referred to compensation funds established by overseas law associations to compensate clients who suffered loss owing to the dishonesty of a lawyer.

We wish to point out to Mr Heng that the Law Society of Singapore has a compensation fund, which was established in 1967.

Information on our Compensation Fund is provided on the society’s website which Mr Heng visited.

Under the scheme, any person who has suffered loss due to the dishonesty of a lawyer or his employee in connection with his practice of law may apply to the society for a grant under the Compensation Fund.

Every lawyer with a practising certificate contributes annually to the Compensation Fund.

Since June 2004, the society has carried out inspections of clients’ accounts when appropriate, and will continue to do so.

In addition, every year all law practices that hold clients’ monies must submit an accountant’s report to the society. This accountant’s report will highlight any shortcomings in accounting practices.

The incident of a lawyer allegedly absconding with $68,000 of clients’ money is indeed deeply regrettable. Investigations are under way concerning this incident.

Misappropriation of clients’ money results in the errant solicitor being struck off.

No less than any responsible legal profession anywhere else, we are rigorous in prosecuting misconduct.

Philip Jeyaretnam
President
The Law Society of Singapore
 
Source : Straits Times - 30 Aug 2007

Collective sales of property may slow due to the Government’s proposed amendments to them, but that may not necessarily be negative, said Mr Cheung Wai-Keung, chairman of luxury property developer Wing Tai Holdings.

Tightening may make developers less aggressive in acquiring land for development.

“I think it’s good, at least it will allow the market to consolidate and adjust itself. (The proposed changes) have also taken away some of the uncertainty created over en bloc rules,” said Mr Cheung.

He was speaking at the release of the company’s financial results for the year ended June 30.

The firm’s net profit rose 198 per cent to $381.8 million from $128 million a year earlier, due to increased sales of residential units, a drop in finance costs and higher contributions from its associated companies.

Source : Today - 30 Aug 2007

The Urban Redevelopment Authority is inviting applications from developers for a condominium site at Alexandra Road.

This is one of the residential sites placed for sale under the Reserve List of the Government Land Sales Programme for the second half of 2007.

According to property consultant CBRE, the site can be developed into a condominium development of at least 40 storeys high.

It expects the site to fetch bids in the range of S$650 to S$750 per square foot per plot ratio.

This will translate to an average selling price of between S$1,200 and S$1,300 per square foot.

Meanwhile, property consultant Knight Frank says it expects the site to be popular with developers due to its proximity to the Redhill MRT station and to the Tanglin Road area.

It is forecasting that the site will fetch up to S$180 million, or about S$400 per square foot per plot ratio.

Under the Reserve List, the Government will only release a site for sale if an interested party offers to bid a minimum purchase price that is acceptable. - CNA/ch

Source : Channel NewsAsia - 30 Aug 2007

CapitaLand has sold its entire 50 percent stake in Chevron House for over S$366 million.

When the deal is done, the property developer will book a gain of S$151 million on the investment.

Chevron House is an office building in the banking and financial district of Raffles Place.

It was formerly known as Caltex House.

CapitaLand has been taking advantage of the buoyant office property market to divest its interest in several commercial buildings.

Another of its property, Hitachi Tower, is also said to be up for sale. - CNA/ms

Source : Channel NewsAsia - 30 Aug 2007

Home owners could scramble to secure the required number of signatures to seal their en bloc deals in the weeks ahead, according to industry watchers.

This is due to the impending changes to the collective sales legislation aimed at adding more transparency to the process.

Owners at Pacific Mansions are still working out a deal with some four to five potential buyers.

Pacific Mansions has 288 apartment units.

The new rules, which may kick in as early as October, will not apply to this development but its sales committee hopes business can be done by that time.

82 percent of residents have already agreed to proceed with the collective sale and the committee says all processes are in order.

If successful, each unit stands to pocket over S$3 million.

The sales committee feels the change in legislation is timely, but could affect the range of property available for en bloc sales.

Dick Tay, Chairman, Pacific Mansions Sales Committee, says: “In future, developments like this will be very difficult to go on en bloc because there are high number of owners in a big estate like this, and also, the process will mean that it will be a longer process for the sales committee to go through.”

With the clock ticking down to the new rules, insiders say some owners at Neptune Court are not confident they will get their deal in time.

Currently, only around 40 per cent of residents have agreed to sell, but the sales committee is not in a rush.

Still, industry players expect some negotiations to speed up in some cases.

S K Phang, Lawyer, Phang & Co, says: “They have substantial signings already, whether it is 30, 40, 50 or 60 per cent, so they will try and race towards the 80 percentile requirement before the rules come into effect.”

Nicholas Mak, Property Analyst, Knight Frank, says: “If the current sales committees in some of the en bloc sales sites…are not able to launch their collective sales tender before the deadline, they may even have to be dissolved. (Under the new rules) You have to have the Collective Sales Agreement witnessed by lawyers and consensus hurdle will be based not just on share value, but also one the floor area.”

So experts hope the authorities will consider granting exemptions for cases where 40 or 50 percent of approval has been secured.

For now, many owners are waiting for the amendments to be debated in Parliament next month.

This, they say, will provide a clearer picture of the changes to the legislation and whether there are any additional rules to abide by. - CNA/ch

Source : Channel NewsAsia - 30 Aug 2007