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On 3 Apr this year, landlord allegedly says: I BREAK YOUR MAN’S FACE

17 Mar this year, landlord allegedly:
Demands more money
Cuts cables of appliances
Hits worker’s face with pliers

On 29 Apr, his tenants were having dinner in their three-room Boon Lay flat after a hard day of work at Jurong Shipyard when they heard a loud smashing sound at the front door.

The burly landlord was allegedly forcing his way into his own flat.

Wielding a hammer, he battered the handles off the main door and barged in.

He allegedly told the workers: ‘Tell your boss to bring money. If your boss don’t come, I whack you.’

The incident was among a series of attempts by him to intimidate his tenants, the workers claimed.

He was apparently trying to get more advance payments from their employer, contractor Goh Peck Soon.

Last October, Mr Goh signed a contract with the landlord to rent the flat for six of his workers.

It turns out the landlord did not have approval from the Housing Board (HDB) to sublet his flat. He was also behind in his loan repayments, leading HDB to initiate proceedings in March this year to recover the flat. (See report on facing page.)

Mr Goh paid one month’s deposit and one month’s advance rent to the landlord.

He also agreed to pay rent one month in advance, on the 18th day.

The day after signing the contract, the landlord asked for another $2,800, amounting to two months’ rent.

He apparently continued to ask for the following month’s advance rent every two weeks.

Mr Goh initially agreed to pay even though he would end up paying three to four months’ rent in advance.

He said: ‘Sometimes the owner has problems with money, so we help them.’

By 17 Mar, Mr Goh had paid enough money to cover the rent till 17Jun.

However, on 17 Mar, the landlord went to the flat at 9pm when the workers were preparing dinner.

They thought he was doing a routine check on his flat, the workers said.

But he was an angry man who wanted more money, which Mr Goh had been reluctant to pay so far ahead of time.

The workers claimed the landlord demanded: ‘Give me some more money, need money, no money.’

Recalling the landlord’s actions, a worker, Mr Peryaiah Karuppiah, 34, claimed: ‘Everything throw. Recorder, throw, TV, throw, kick.’

The landlord took a kitchen knife and pliers belonging to the workers, and allegedly cut the cables of the electrical appliances in the flat.

Mr Goh said the workers called the police, but they could not remove the landlord because he was the flat owner.

However, he was arrested for assault because he had allegedly hit a worker’s face with the pliers, causing a small cut.

Mr Goh claimed that on 3 Apr, the landlord then demanded $1,400 from him and threatened him via SMS: ‘U don’t play play. i go my house and break your man’s face again.’

The next day, Mr Goh met the landlord to discuss the matter. The landlord promised not to cause trouble in return for help with his loans.

Mr Goh said he paid advance rent till September in return for a signed undertaking from the landlord that he would not ask for advance rent or disturb his workers until 17 Sep.

But on 29 Apr, the landlord turned up at the flat and allegedly forced his way in. The workers said they did not dare to prevent him from messing the place up again because he was the owner. The police were called again.

Mr Goh received several messages from the landlord in May demanding October’s rent and even more money, purportedly to pay his HDB bills.

He allegedly threatened via SMS: ‘Later kick every thing.’

On 13 May, he showed up at his flat again and allegedly threw the workers’ belongings around for the third time.

Mr Goh, fearing for the safety of his workers, moved his workers to another place for good. However, their problems did not end.

The workers had barely settled in their new flat when Mr Goh discovered a break-in at their former flat.

His TV, radio and hi-fi recorder worth $1,000 were missing.

The police confirmed they are investigating the theft.

When Mr Goh revisited the old flat again on 17 Jun, he was surprised to find another group of tenants living there.

The new group, also dock workers, were unaware that they were living in a flat that had been tenanted out to someone else till September.

The employer of these workers confirmed with The New Paper that they had rented the flat.

‘It’s been very stressful,’ Mr Goh said of his experience.

‘If I knew about this problem, I would never have rented this place.’

The New Paper’s attempts to contact the landlord were unsuccessful.

HDB: Landlord ignored numerous reminders

The landlord did not get written approval to sublet his flat, the Housing Board (HDB) said.

While the subletting of flats is a private arrangement between owners and sub-tenants, owners must first get HDB approval before subletting.

The landlord had not paid his loan instalments since he bought the flat two years ago, and had chosen to ignore reminders to pay on numerous occasions.

He now owes HDB 24 months of instalment payments.

When HDB was following up to recover the arrears owed, it found out that he had allowed unauthorised occupiers to live in the flat while he was living elsewhere.

However, HDB was not aware if there was any cheating involved.

In a statement to The New Paper, it said: ‘If it is a case of cheating, the parties involved may also wish to report to the police for their investigation.’

IGNORED REMINDERS

HDB has sought to recover the flat since March.

It said: ‘This was done as a last resort, after the flat owner continued to ignore our repeated reminders.’

Mr Goh and the employer of the new group of tenants each stand to lose about $6,000 in advance rent and commission payments.

The first group of tenants also claimed they lost some of their personal possessions.
 
Source : New Paper - 3 Jul 2008