89YO Sued Her Son After He Refused to Sell Co-Owned HDB Flat for $700K

By
Chew Ming Hui
-

In Singapore, we live by the oft-repeated phrase “sue until your pants drop”. And you can bet your bottom dollar that it still lives on today.

An 89-year-old mother, Mdm Goh Siam Teow, sued her 68-year-old son, Mr Arthero Lim Tung Hee, after he refused to sell their co-owned HDB flat.

89-Year-Old Mother Sued Son Over $700K Co-Owned HDB Flat

It all started in 2001 when the mother-son pair jointly purchased the $700K HDB flat at Toa Payoh Lorong 4.

Image: Google Maps

Two decades later, in 2020, the tenancy was changed to a tenancy-in-common.

The difference? Under joint tenancy, the mother and son both own 100% of the flat. Under tenancy-in-common, the mother and son own specific shares of the flat.

In this case, Mdm Goh owned 50% while Mr Lim owned the remaining 50%.

If the flat were to be sold, the pair would have split the proceeds 50-50. $350K for the mother and $350K for the son—simple as that.

If only it were that simple.

As it turns out, the 68-year-old son refused to sell the flat. And, of course, his mother decided to sue him.

Not so Asian Mother of her, but very Singaporean.

Son Refused to Sell the Flat as He Needed the Flat’s Rental Income

You might be wondering: why didn’t the son want to sell the flat? That’s pretty char siew of him.

Well, Mr Lim argued that he needed the flat for rental income.

Two of the rooms in the HDB flat have been rented out, bringing the son approximately $1,500 per month worth of rental income.

He has been sustaining himself with this sum since he suffered a stroke that prematurely ended his career as a professional painter.

If the flat were sold, the son claimed he could not sustain himself.

Further, he has stayed in the flat for the past two decades. If the flat were sold, he would lose his home as well.

It’s okay lah… National Day is coming up—the whole of Singapore is your home.

Mother Needs Sales Proceeds From Flat to Fund Medical Expenses

The mother’s side of the story is this: the 89-year-old needs the sales proceeds to fund her medical expenses.

Mdm Goh had dementia and required money for treatment. This is especially given that her dementia was worsening at the time of the litigation.

So, what’s your take? Medical treatment for an elderly mother vs rental income for a retired son—which is more important?

High Court Rules for HDB Flat to be Sold; Mother-Son Pair to Split Sales Proceeds

Ok lah, it doesn’t matter what you think; in June, the High Court ruled that the flat will be sold and the sales proceeds will be split between the mother-son pair.

Specifically, each party will receive a lump sum payout of at least $350K.

Huat ah!

Mr Lim had initially argued that he deserved a more significant portion of the sales proceeds, claiming that he paid more for the flat. However, we’ll save you the time and effort of scrutinising many numbers—evidence shows this was not necessarily true.

The Court also added that the son should be able to sustain himself post-sale, given that he would have nearly $200K in his CPF retirement fund upon the flat’s sale.

There’s just one thing left for Mr Lim to figure out: where should he stay?

With any hope, we won’t see another Singaporean on the news for making a bedroom out of the East Coast Park shelters.

Over in TikTok, there’s a drama involving property agents that’s caused by us. Here’s what happened:

Read Also:

Advertisements
 
Chew Ming Hui
Email: [email protected]