59-year-old unlicensed property agent charged

[Yue Ying]

59-year-old unlicensed property agent charged

Published on Nov 14, 2012
By Elena Chong

A 59-year-old man was charged on Wednesday with holding himself out to be a sales person without being registered with the Council for Estate Agencies (CEA).

Lum Chap Heng allegedly committed the offences on two occasions from June to July last year.

He is said in a third charge to have held himself out as being a sales person of a licensed estate agent without first getting an authorisation by written agreement from the licensed agent, HSR International Realtors, from July 20 to 26 last year.

He introduced himself as Roy or Ron Lim, an "associate manager'' with HSR to potential clients when he allegedly did not have a written agreement to carry out estate agency work for the company.

Read the full report in The Straits Times on Wednesday (Nov 14).

 

[Alto Saotome]

Man charged for posing as a property agent

AsiaOne
Wednesday, Nov 14, 2012

SINGAPORE - The Council for Estate Agencies (CEA) has filed charges against a man who illegally posed as a property agent.

According to the CEA, Lum Chap Heng, a 59-year-old Singaporean, acted as a property agent without being registered with CEA. This is an offence under the Estate Agents Act.

From June to July 2011, Lum allegedly posted flyers carrying his mobile number on the void deck display notice boards and walls of HDB blocks at and around the Jurong West area, advertising for landlords and tenants.

He was also said to have represented a flat owner to find potential tenants for her property. He negotiated property transactions directly and conducted flat viewings, said CEA.

Lum presented himself to potential clients as "Roy" or "Ron Lim", an "Associate Manager" with HSR International Realtors Pte. Ltd. However, Lum was not registered with CEA and did not have a written agreement with the licensed estate agent for him to carry out estate agency work for them.

He will be charged in Court under the Estate Agents Act (EAA) 2010 for two charges of holding himself out as a salesperson without first being a registered salesperson of a licensed estate agent, and one charge of holding himself out as a salesperson of a licensed estate agent without first getting an authorisation by written agreement from the licensed estate agent.

The punishment for each offence under Section 29(1)(a) and Section 41(2) of the EAA 2010 is a fine not exceeding $25,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or both.

ADVICE FOR CONSUMERS

Consumers are advised not to respond to any real estate agent's flyer, leaflet or advertisement that does not provide a salesperson's name, registration number, contact number, as well as the estate agent's name and licence number.

Engage only salespersons who are registered with the CEA. They can check CEA's Public Register at www.cea.gov.sg or on the "CEA@SG" mobile app to verify a salesperson's registration details before engaging his or her services. Searches can be done on the Public Register using the salesperson's name, registration number and/or mobile number.

If you encounter unregistered property agents, report the matter to the CEA, either in person, at 1800-6432555 or [email protected].

 

[Yue Ying]

Unregistered estate agent pleads guilty to 3 charges, fined $21,000

Published on Dec 12, 2012
By Elena Chong

A man who passed himself off as an estate agent was fined a total of $21,000 today after pleading guilty to three charges.

Lum Chap Heng, 59, could not pay the fines and will serve a default sentence of 84 days' jail.

Between June and July last year, he had represented himself as a registered salesperson. Since Jan 1 last year, anyone working as an estate agent has to be registered with the Council for Estate Agencies.

 

[M.Bison]

Unregistered salesperson fined S$21,000 under Estate Agents Act

Posted: 13 December 2012 0029 hrs

The logo of the Council for Estate Agencies.

SINGAPORE: An unregistered salesperson who posted flyers in public places was fined S$21,000 on Wednesday.

He was charged under the Estate Agents Act.

The Council for Estate Agencies (CEA) charged 59-year-old Lum Chap Heng in court on 14 November for posting flyers carrying his mobile number to advertise for landlords and tenants.

Lum also represented a flat owner and helped her find potential tenants for her property. He also conducted flat viewings.

CEA said Lum was aware that it was illegal for him to hold himself out as a salesperson as he was not registered under the Estate Agents Act.

Lum had specifically told prospective tenants that he had registered with CEA in 2010.

He also identified himself as a salesperson with a licensed estate agent, HSR International Realtors, even though he did not have a written agreement with an estate agent for him to practise.

CEA said this case highlighted the importance of checking the identity of a salesperson on CEA's Public Register before responding to a salesperson's flyer, leaflet or advertisement.

It added that consumers are advised not to respond to any real estate agent's flyer, leaflet or advertisement that did not provide the salesperson's name, registration number, contact number, as well as the estate agent's name and licence number.

Consumers should only engage salespersons who are registered with CEA, it said.

The public can check CEA's public register at www.cea.gov.sg or on the "CEA@SG" mobile app to verify a salesperson's registration details before engaging his or her services.

Searches can be done on the public register using the salesperson's name, registration number and mobile number.

The public should also report to CEA when they encounter any person not listed on the public register but carrying out estate agency work illegally.

They can report the person to the CEA at 1800-6432555 or [email protected].

- CNA/jc