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Author Topic: Goh Chung Yong - former property salesperson [Certified Dishonest]  (Read 2919 times)

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Goh Chung Yong - former property salesperson [Certified Dishonest]
« on: September 15, 2016, 08:12:27 AM »
Former property agent used client's $93,000 to repay debts
Wednesday, Sep 14, 2016

A former property agent from Propnex was convicted on Thursday for using $93,000 cash from a client to repay loan shark debts, said the Council for Estate Agencies (CEA) in a statement.

The cash was meant to be passed to conveyancing lawyers to handle the purchase of an HDB flat.

Goh Chung Yong, 48, was fined $10,000, in default seven weeks' imprisonment for handling his client's transaction money, an offence under the Estate Agents Act.

Goh had instructed his client in January last year to pass him the money to pay the conveyancing lawyers handling the purchase of a flat, as his office was near the law firm.

The client handed the amount to Goh, along with another $13,000 in cash as Goh's commission for assisting the owner with the sale of his Sembawang flat and the purchase of a Yishun flat.

About a month later, the conveyancing lawyers contacted the client and said that they never received the $93,000 from Goh.

The client was unable to to complete his purchase of the Yishun flat as a result, and he lodged a complaint with Goh's company, Propnex Realty.

Propnex proceeded to advance the $93,000 to the client and succeeded in asking the Housing Development Board for an extension complete his flat purchase.

Investigations revealed that Goh initially lied to Propnex that the $93,000 was stolen from his car, but could not report the theft to the police.

He later admitted that he had used the money to pay off his debts owed to loansharks, but he ultimately repaid the $93,000 to Propnex after selling his own condominium unit in April last year.

This is the largest amount of transaction monies that a property agent has handled so far, among the 16 who have been prosecuted for the offence since 2010, the CEA said.

Those convicted of the offence can be fined up to $10,000 or jailed up to six months or both.

Repeat offenders face a fine of up to $500 for every day or part thereof during which the offence continues after conviction.

CEA advises consumers not to hand transaction monies, such as option fee, down-payment, stamp duties, deposits or sales proceeds, to their property agents or agencies, or make such requests to them.

Source: http://news.asiaone.com/news/singapore/former-property-agent-used-clients-93000-repay-debts