Man fined record S$600,000 for unauthorised dormitory use of private homes
The maximum penalty of S$200,000 is imposed for each of his three charges
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A SINGAPOREAN man, Tan Hock Keng, has been sentenced to a record fine on three counts of using private residential properties as unauthorised dormitory accommodation under the Planning Act.
The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) said in a release on Friday (Jun 14) that the 72-year-old has been sentenced to a total fine of S$600,000, with the maximum fine of S$200,000 imposed for each of the three charges.
Eight additional charges, relating to similar offences at other private residential properties, were taken into consideration for the purposes of sentencing.
Following inspections by the Ministry of Manpower enforcement officers in December 2017 and March 2018, URA found that Tan had housed 15 foreign workers at 1012B Upper Serangoon Road, 16 workers at 32H Lorong 22 Geylang, and 17 workers at 32J Lorong 22 Geylang for around two years. Further investigations revealed that between 2016 and 2018, Tan converted eight other private residential properties into dormitories, each housing more than six unrelated occupants, ranging from seven to 23.
URA’s regulations stipulate that private residential properties can only house up to six unrelated persons.
Tan admitted that he was aware of the regulations but proceeded with the unauthorised conversions of the premises anyway. Due to the severity of the infringements, URA charged Tan in court in November 2021. The sentencing was delivered on May 30, 2024.
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Martin Tan, director of URA’s development control group, highlighted: “Unauthorised dormitory accommodation not only adversely affects the residential character of the neighbourhood but also negatively impacts the occupants, who may be from more vulnerable groups susceptible to exploitation.”
He added: “URA will continue to take strong enforcement actions against perpetrators, including property owners, tenants, agents and anyone found to have flouted URA’s regulations on the rental or subletting of private residential properties.”
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