Police investigating American over alleged scheme to rent house without paying: Murali Pillai

The police are investigating an American who repeatedly used a shell company to rent property without paying, said Senior Minister of State for Law Murali Pillai in Parliament on Wednesday (Nov 4).

The police, in consultation with the Attorney-General's Chambers, found grounds to investigate Anthony Thomas Price for alleged cheating under Section 420 of the Penal Code, he said .

Investigations stem from a case involving an elderly couple who leased their house to a company for $7,500 a month.

According to the court's findings, the company paid one month's rent and half a month's security deposit before stopping payments.

Despite this, Price, one of the company's directors, and his family continued living in the property.

When the landlords sought to recover possession of the house, the company applied to court to stop them.

The court dismissed the application as a "plain abuse of process", ordering the company to return the property and pay double rent and legal costs.

Murali also noted the court's findings that Price had "devised a deliberate scheme" to rent the house with no intention of paying rent and had followed a similar pattern in other tenancies

Separate investigations are also underway into possible fraudulent and wrongful trading offences, as well as potential breaches of the Companies Act.

Those found guilty of cheating face up to 10 years' jail time and may be fined or caned, or both.

"As investigations are ongoing. I will not say more," said Murali, stressing what he said should not be taken as a view on whether an offence has been committed.

AsiaOne has reached out to the police for more information on investigations.

Murali raised the case in response to parliamentary questions about whether additional safeguards are needed to prevent corporate tenants from abusing rental arrangements.

Govt rejects calls for tighter rules on corporate tenants

Responding to suggestions that shell companies with little capital should be barred from entering residential leases, Murali said Singapore's laws already allow authorities and courts to act against those who misuse corporate structures.

"The law does not allow companies to be used as a cover for fraud," he said.

Besides criminal liability, he added that individuals behind companies can be held personally responsible for debts where courts find evidence of fraudulent or wrongful trading.

Murali also rejected proposals for mandatory personal guarantees for all corporate residential tenancies, saying landlords are already free to require guarantees, larger deposits or bank guarantees based on their own assessment of risk.

"A blanket mandatory rule would take away this flexibility," he said, explaining that it would add unnecessary burden on legitimate businesses and may not stop determined offenders.

Concerns over copycats

Workers' Party MP Louis Chua also raised concerns that similar cases could emerge if would-be tenants perceive they can remain in properties rent-free while legal proceedings drag on.

Murali responded that landlords can recover unpaid rent and seek possession of properties using existing legal avenues.

These include applications through the Small Claims Tribunals for eligible residential leases and remedies under the Distress Act, which allows landlords to seek a writ to seize and sell tenants' assets for unpaid rent.

He reiterated that the ongoing investigations on Price reveals the severity of the offence.

"As far as this case is concerned, the tenant is now under investigation for a very serious offence," said Murali.

"I think that in itself is a signal that if they want to copy, they should tread with care."

laili.abdeen@asiaone.com

法律部高级国务部长穆拉利·皮莱周三（11月4日）在国会表示，警方正在调查一名美国人，此人多次利用空壳公司租房而不支付租金。

他说，警方与总检察署协商后，发现有理由根据《刑法》第 420 条对安东尼·托马斯·普莱斯涉嫌欺诈行为展开调查。

调查源于一起案件，一对老年夫妇将自己的房子以每月 7500 美元的价格租给了一家公司。

根据法院的调查结果，该公司在停止支付之前支付了一个月的租金和半个月的押金。

尽管如此，作为公司董事之一的普莱斯和他的家人仍然继续居住在该房产中。

当房东试图收回房屋时，该公司向法院申请阻止他们。

法院以“明显滥用程序”为由驳回了该申请，并责令该公司归还房产，支付双倍租金和诉讼费用。

穆拉利还指出，法院的调查结果显示，普莱斯“精心策划”出租房屋却无意支付租金，并且在其他租赁中也采用了类似的模式。

目前，针对可能的欺诈和非法交易罪行以及可能违反《公司法》的行为，也正在进行单独的调查。

被判作弊罪者将面临最高 10 年的监禁，并可能被处以罚款或鞭刑，或两者并罚。

“由于调查仍在进行中，我不会再多说什么，”穆拉利说道，并强调他所说的话不应被视为对是否已构成犯罪的看法。

AsiaOne已联系警方，以获取更多调查信息。

Murali提出此案是为了回应议会关于是否需要额外保障措施来防止企业租户滥用租赁安排的质询。

政府拒绝了要求加强对企业租户监管的呼吁

针对有人建议禁止资本较少的空壳公司签订住宅租赁合同，穆拉里表示，新加坡的法律已经允许当局和法院对滥用公司结构的人采取行动。

他说：“法律不允许利用公司作为欺诈的掩护。”

除了刑事责任外，他还补充说，如果法院发现存在欺诈或不当交易的证据，公司背后的个人也可能要对债务承担个人责任。

穆拉利还拒绝了对所有公司住宅租赁强制要求个人担保的提议，称房东已经可以根据自己对风险的评估，自由地要求担保、更高的押金或银行担保。

他表示，“一刀切的强制性规定会剥夺这种灵活性”，并解释说，这将给合法企业增加不必要的负担，而且可能无法阻止执意违法者。

对模仿者的担忧

工人党议员刘志强也表达了担忧，如果潜在租户认为他们可以在法律程序拖延期间免租居住在房产中，则可能会出现类似的案例。

Murali回应说，房东可以利用现有的法律途径追讨未付租金并收回房产。

这些包括通过小额索赔法庭申请符合条件的住宅租赁赔偿，以及根据《扣押法》寻求救济，该法允许房东申请令状扣押和出售租户的资产以偿还未付租金。

他重申，对普莱斯的持续调查揭示了罪行的严重性。

“就此案而言，该租户目前正因一项非常严重的罪行接受调查，”穆拉里说。

“我认为这本身就是一个信号，如果他们想模仿，就应该谨慎行事。”

laili.abdeen@asiaone.com