Sale of Hin Leong Trading founder's good class bungalow falls through

THE sale of a good-class bungalow belonging to Lim Oon Kuin (or O. K. Lim, as he is widely known), founder of debt-hit oil trader Hin Leong Trading (HLT), and his wife, has fallen through.

A caveat of S$27 million had been lodged for the bungalow on April 14, The Edge reported on Thursday. But Mr Lim's lawyers told The Straits Times that the transaction was not carried out and the sale was aborted.

Sitting on a freehold site on Second Avenue off Bukit Timah Road, the bungalow covers 19,989 sq ft. The price would have translated to S$1,352 per square foot.

The caveat was lodged shortly before HLT applied for a debt moratorium. The oil trader has since withdrawn the application and intends to go into judicial management, The Business Times reported on Thursday.

The Edge also noted several other good-class bungalows owned by Mr Lim and his family.

One in Third Avenue, on a 14,575 sq ft freehold site, is jointly owned by him and his sons. Another at Queen Astrid Park off Holland Road, purchased for S$46 million in 2017, is held solely by Mr Lim's wife. And one in Tanglin Villas is owned jointly by Mr Lim and his daughter Lim Huey Ching, a director of HLT.