Daily Archives: 10 Oct 2009

HDB deserves praise

Posted on 10 Oct 2009 | Comments Off on HDB deserves praise

I REFER to Thursday’s report, ‘Hard to get that first flat? Not so’.

In the past weeks, there has been a fair amount of negative sentiment against the Housing Board over flat availability.

I urge Singaporeans not to forget what the HDB has done for so long for which we should be thankful.

Most Singaporeans have forgotten that HDB was set up to solve the gargantuan problem of providing high-standard public housing for all.

HDB has worked hard. How can we say it has done a bad job? Do we live in villages like our forefathers?

Second, are HDB flats really unaffordable?

If one compares buying an HDB flat with buying a condominium or landed property, the cash needed upfront for an HDB flat is minimal. A buyer who sets aside a few hundred dollars a month for a few years will have no problem with the down payment.

There is no excuse, especially for young professionals and executives. HDB also has grants and comprehensive loan schemes with interest rates lower than market standards. Continue reading →

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Posted in HDB

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Does Court of Appeal have powers to reopen own case?

Posted on 10 Oct 2009 | Comments Off on Does Court of Appeal have powers to reopen own case?

A CIVIL suit before the courts in Singapore has set a landmark poser.

The issue: Does the highest court in the land have the powers to reopen and set aside its own judgments?

It pitted one top lawyer against another in the High Court, in a debate behind closed doors before Justice Choo Han Teck on Wednesday.

He has reserved judgment.

The issue began in 2005, when a three-judge panel in the Court of Appeal ruled in a 2-1 decision that residents of Grange Heights condominium could use an access path leading to their development.

The path runs through a Grange Road property owned by Lee Tat Development.

In 2007, when Grange Heights went to the High Court to ask for a ruling on its building of a proper road, the court said it saw no need to do this, as the matter was bound by the 2005 ruling. Continue reading →

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Posted in Conveyancing / Legal

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