On June 14, the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) announced that a 72-year-old Singaporean, Tan Hock Keng, was convicted on three counts of illegally converting private residential properties into dormitory accommodations. On May 30, Tan received a record-breaking fine of $600,000, with a maximum penalty of $200,000 imposed for each charge.
“URA will continue to take stringent enforcement actions against violators, including property owners, tenants, agents, and anyone found to have breached URA’s regulations on the rental or subletting of private properties,” a URA spokesperson stated.
Further investigations revealed that Tan had been offering illegal dormitory accommodations at these properties for approximately two years. Additionally, between 2016 and 2018, he had converted eight other private homes into illegal dormitories, with the number of tenants in each unit ranging from 7 to 23.
“Unauthorized dormitory accommodations not only disrupt the residential character of the community but also negatively impact the well-being of occupants, who are often from vulnerable groups susceptible to exploitation,” said Martin Tan, Director of the Development Control Group at URA.
Tan admitted that he was aware of the tenancy laws but chose to proceed with the illegal conversions regardless.
URA regulations stipulate that private properties may only house up to six unrelated individuals.
The investigation, prompted by inspections from the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) in December 2017 and March 2018, uncovered that 15 foreign workers were residing at 1012B Upper Serangoon Road. Additionally, 16 and 17 foreign nationals were found living at 32H Lorong 22 Geylang and 32J Lorong 22 Geylang, respectively.
MOM enforcement officers who assessed the properties linked to Tan discovered that the number of residents far exceeded URA’s occupancy limits.