Tag Archives: Joseph Kiong Chin Fong

Police have arrested a 45-year-old man who is believed to have been involved in at least 13 reports of rental scam at Block 1 Lorong Lew Lian.

In all the cases, the 21 victims responded to rental advertisements placed in the Chinese newspapers between March 4 and 29 this year.

The suspect allegedly arranged for the victims to view the unit for rent and collected between S$500 and S$4,800 from them as deposits, telling them they could move in the following month.

After collecting the money, the man became un-contactable.

The suspect was arrested on Tuesday at about 7.15pm at HarbourFront.

He will be charged on Thursday in court with cheating.

He can be jailed up to 10 years and fined.

Meanwhile, the police advise members of the public to adopt the following crime prevention measures when seeking a unit for rent:

a) Visit the flat you wish to rent and ensure the person you are dealing with is the rightful flat owner. Request documentary proof of flat ownership that bears the flat owner’s name.

b) Insist that the owner registers the subletting with HDB within seven days from the subletting date.

c) Seek service from a licensed estate agent or registered salesperson (also known as property agent).

Source : Channel NewsAsia – 2 Jun 2011

See : Unregistered property agent charged

A 45-year-old man has become the first person to be charged in court with representing himself as a property agent without being registered with the Council for Estate Agencies (CEA).

It is believed Tan Cher Peng had also failed to obtain a written authorisation from a licensed real estate firm before practising.

Since January 1 this year, all property agents must register with the CEA and possess written agreements with their companies before they are allowed to perform their job.

Failure to comply with these rules is an offence.

Tan had applied to the CEA to register as a salesperson but he allegedly made a false statement in the application on December 14, last year.

He had allegedly stated he had not been convicted in a court of law in any country and this statement was believed to be untrue.

A media release from the CEA said it found out Tan was wanted by the police while processing the application and did not register him.

Despite these, Tan allegedly represented himself as a salesperson for real estate firm, Wallingtons International, in online advertisements.

On January 20, he met two people — Lee Poh Geok and her client, who’s only known as Ms Han — at 27 Club Street near Chinatown.

He is believed to have told them that the property was available for lease.

Tan had also allegedly told the pair he was the landlord’s salesperson before giving them his name card, saying he was a salesperson for Wallingtons.

It is believed he repeated a similar act over the same property with two other people — Joseph Kiong Chin Fong and Lim Yong Khiang — on February 8.

Tan, who faces seven charges in all, will be back in court on July 13.

Source : CNA – 1 Jun 2011

See : Rental scammer suspect held