Property agents, condo buyers charged with intent to evade higher ABSD

FOUR Singaporeans have been accused of exercising a backdated option to purchase (OTP) so that the buyers may avoid paying higher additional buyer's stamp duty (ABSD) on their third private residential property.

Two licensed property agents, Mu Shen and Loy Thye Wei, as well as two individuals, Daniel Halim and Lee Liu Ying, were charged in court on Friday morning under Section 62 of Singapore's Stamp Duties Act.

The alleged offences took place in July 2018, after the government announced a round of cooling measures for the housing market, and involved a fourth-storey unit at 163 Jalan Loyang Besar.

The address corresponds with that of Sandy Palm, a 99-year leasehold condominium in Pasir Ris, according to The Business Times' (BT) checks.

Loy, 43, as the property agent representing the seller, Fung Chi Ho, was accused of falsely stating the date on the OTP for the condo unit as July 4, 2018, when in fact the OTP was agreed on July 8, 2018 or later.

Mu, 51, allegedly instigated Loy to do so, according to the charge sheets.

A NEWSLETTER FOR YOU

Tuesday, 12 pm

Property Insights

Get an exclusive analysis of real estate and property news in Singapore and beyond.

Sign Up

Meanwhile, Halim and Lee, both 44, were said to have executed the backdated OTP for the unit on or about July 24, 2018 in Singapore, with the intent to evade payment of duty.

For Singaporeans buying their third and subsequent residential property, the ABSD rate till July 5, 2018 was 10 per cent, but increased to 15 per cent from July 6, 2018 onwards.

Halim and Lee were allegedly trying to avoid paying S$69,000 more in stamp duty, Today reported. That works out to about S$1.38 million on a 100 per cent basis, representing the unit's purchase price or market value, whichever is higher.

The higher ABSD rates were announced on July 5, 2018, along with a tightening of loan-to-value limits, to cool the property market and keep price increases in line with economic fundamentals.

The seller's agent Loy was charged with the intent to avoid payment of duty by omitting to set forth truly, in the OTP, the facts and circumstances required by Section 5 of the Stamp Duties Act. Mu was charged with abetting her to commit an offence under Section 62(b) of the Act.

The Council for Estate Agencies' public register shows that Loy has been with ERA Realty Network since 2017, while Mu has been registered under PropNex Realty since 2019.

The buyers, Halim and Lee, were charged with the intent to evade payment of duty by executing an instrument in which all the facts and circumstances are not fully and truly set forth.

If found guilty, the property agents and buyers may each be fined up to S$10,000, and/or imprisoned for up to three years.

The next court mentions for Halim, Lee and Mu will take place on March 26, while Loy will return to court on April 9.