Category Archives: CEA

Agent jailed 3 weeks for pocketing $2,900, forgery

Property agent Bentley Ang was jailed for three weeks after pocketing S$2,900 of his client’s money and committing forgery to cover up the crime, the local media reports.

A former agent of Knight Frank Property Network, Ang pleaded guilty to forging his client’s handwriting and committing criminal breach of trust.

The 37-year old agent was engaged by Nicholas Loh Kah Teck who wanted to rent an apartment at the Coastarina condominium in East Coast Road. Loh paid S$2,900 as a booking deposit, which was reflected in the letter of intent between the landlord and Loh. However, the landlord raised the rent prior to the signing of the lease agreement.

Consequently, Loh backed out, while Ang refunded the full amount of S$2,900 on 25 May. Instead of handing the money back to his client, Ang used it to pay his gambling debts and loans.

On 4 June, he handed the landlord a copy of the letter of intent and a forged receipt of the S$2,900 from Loh.

Ang handed Loh a cheque on 3 August, which eventually bounced due to lack of funds. Loh reported the incident to the police a week thereafter and Ang was later on charged with three weeks of imprisonment.

Source – PropertyGuru – 26 Jun 2013

CEA: We cannot force GST payments

Singapore’s Council for Estate Agencies (CEA) has confirmed that it does not have the power to force consumers to pay GST on commission fees charged by real estate agents.

In an email sent to all Singapore real estate agencies yesterday, Yeap Soon Teck, Deputy Director (Licensing) for CEA, said that his organisation cannot mandate the payment of GST, adding that agents may decide to charge GST or absorb it.

Yesterday’s email came after an online petition attempting to force CEA to make the payment of GST mandatory attracted more than 360 signatures. A Facebook page in support of the petition also gathered close to 200 supporters.

CEA’s advice to real estate agents who face the problem of getting their clients to pay GST is to explain that GST is a consumption tax that is levied on goods and services, and that the agent is required to pay that tax to the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS).

The email added: “If the salesperson has delivered good service, he should be entitled to his full commission payment without having to absorb the GST, and if he is asked to absorb the GST then he will be getting a lesser amount that what he is entitled to.”

Source – PropGuru – 25 jun 2013