{"id":123820,"date":"2021-12-15T03:56:42","date_gmt":"2021-12-14T20:56:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/property-news\/woman-admits-to-purchasing-properties-on-behalf-of-three-foreigners\/"},"modified":"2021-12-15T12:06:11","modified_gmt":"2021-12-15T05:06:11","slug":"woman-admits-to-purchasing-properties-on-behalf-of-three-foreigners","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/property-news\/woman-admits-to-purchasing-properties-on-behalf-of-three-foreigners\/","title":{"rendered":"Woman admits to purchasing properties on behalf of three foreigners"},"content":{"rendered":"


\nFor purchasing a restricted residential property on behalf of a foreigner, the 49-year-old Singaporean, Song Fanrong, could be imprisoned for up to three years, fined by up to $100,000, or both.
\nA Singaporean woman admitted to acquiring three semi-detached properties for three foreign friends, with the intent of transferring ownership once they secured Singapore citizenship, reported Channel News Asia (CNA).
\nSong Fanrong pleaded guilty on Tuesday (14 December) to one charge under the Residential Property Act of acquiring a restricted residential property on behalf of a foreigner.
\nTwo similar charges for the two other properties will be considered in sentencing.
\nThe court heard that the 49-year-old Singaporean got to know Chinese national Wang Chen in 2013. Wang had told Song of his intent to emigrate to Singapore and own a residential property within the city-state. With this, Song recommended an estate called Belgravia Villas.
\nDeveloped by Fairview Development, Belgravia Villas is a freehold cluster housing estate within the Seletar and Yio Chu Kang area. Under the Residential Property Act, Belgravia Villas is classified as not being a non-restricted residential, noted Deputy Public Prosecutor Hon Yi.
\nSong offered to purchase the property on Wang\u2019s behalf since a foreigner like him is not eligible to acquire it. The property\u2019s ownership will be transferred to Wang once he obtained Singapore citizenship.
\nRelated article:\u00a0What You Need to Know if You\u2019re Buying Property in Singapore as a Foreigner
\nWang accepted the offer and signed an agreement with Song, which stated that she was merely a trustee and that he is the actual owner of the property.
\nHe transferred $1.8 million to Song\u2019s bank account in China.
\nIn September 2014, Song entered into a sales and purchase agreement with Fairview Development for a unit at Belgravia Villas costing about $3.48 million. She used the $1.8 million as partial payment for\u00a0the unit.
\nThat same year, she also acquired two other units in Belgravia Villas for two other foreigners. One of them \u2013 Chinese national Chen Xiaopu \u2013 was charged in court.
\nWhen the three Chinese nationals stopped paying for the properties, all three agreements went into default.
\nIn August 2017, the Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) received a report about Song from the Singapore Land Authority, stating that she had acquired four semi-detached units at Belgravia Villas.
\nFollowing the default on the agreement, the developer deducted the contractual penalties from the sums already paid by the foreigners through Song. Thereafter, the rights of Song and the three foreigners were extinguished, while the developer surrendered the remaining $1.6 million. CAD seized the amount in January 2018.
\nDeputy Public Prosecutor Hon Yi sought one month\u2019s jail for Song, underscoring that she was the one who suggested acquiring the properties on behalf of the foreigners and that freehold and landed properties are prized by many.
\n\u201cSuch properties generally hold their value well, and often appreciate over time. Apart from providing homes for people, it is also known that property is a good investment \u2026 we thus have laws in place to keep foreigners from buying up, and possibly speculating in, land in Singapore,\u201d he said as quoted by CNA.
\nMeanwhile, defence lawyer Alain Abraham Johns pointed that Song had no intention to profit from the transactions.
\n\u201cWhere the three foreigners are concerned, all three foreigners intended to apply for Singapore citizenship, that was their intention \u2026 the properties were to be transferred back to them once they became Singapore citizens,\u201d he said as quoted by CNA.
\n\u201cThere was no dishonesty on the part of the accused. She was merely assisting the three foreigners, who were her friends.\u201d
\nFor purchasing a restricted residential property on behalf of a foreigner, Song could be imprisoned for up to three years, fined by up to $100,000, or both.
\nChen may also be imprisoned for up to three years, fined by up to $100,000, or both.
\nLooking for a property in Singapore? Visit PropertyGuru\u2019s\u00a0Listings,\u00a0Project Reviews\u00a0and\u00a0Guides.
\nCheryl Chiew, Digital Content Specialist at PropertyGuru, edited this story. To contact her about this story, email:\u00a0cheryl@propertyguru.com.sg.
\n
\nSource : proppertyguru.com.sg\/Property Market
\nRead more…Woman admits to purchasing properties on behalf of three foreigners<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For purchasing a restricted residential property on behalf of a foreigner, the 49-year-old Singaporean, Song...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":123821,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-123820","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-property-news"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/court-hammer-2.original.jpg?fit=840%2C420&ssl=1","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p75ss1-wd6","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":124267,"url":"https:\/\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/property-news\/gcb-sales-volume-to-ease-in-2022-increase-in-property-auction-listings-and-more\/","url_meta":{"origin":123820,"position":0},"title":"GCB sales volume to ease in 2022, increase in property auction listings and more","date":"January 17, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"\r 11th January\u00a0to 17th January After a robust performance in 2021, the Good Class Bungalow (GCB) market is expected to see a drop in sales volume this year. 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