Chinese national charged with appointing Singaporean to purchase restricted property
A screengrab from Google Maps showing Belgravia Villas. (Image: Google Maps)
SINGAPORE: A Chinese national was charged in court on Monday (Dec 13) for allegedly appointing a Singaporean to purchase a restricted property in 2014 and hold it in trust for him.
Court documents identified the man as Chen Xiaopu, 39, and the residential property as a unit in Belgravia Villas in Ang Mo Kio.
He was purportedly told by a Singaporean, named in court documents as Song Fanrong, that he would not be eligible to buy the property in his own name as he was a foreigner, police said in a news release.
Restricted properties include vacant residential land, terrace houses, semi-detached houses, bungalows or detached houses, non-commercial use shophouses and association premises.
Song allegedly offered to buy the property on Chen’s behalf and to transfer the ownership to him once he gets his Singapore citizenship or permanent residency.
Chen “purportedly accepted the offer and made partial payment to the Singaporean nominee for the purchase of the property”, police said.
“The Singaporean nominee allegedly entered into a sales and purchase agreement with the developer of the property, which was classified as a restricted property,” police said.
If convicted, Chen could be jailed up to three years, fined up to S$100,000, or or both.
