Investigations relating to the rental of state properties along Ridout Road have revealed that both Ministers K Shanmugam and Vivian Balakrishnan are clear of corruption or criminal wrongdoings, no special treatments were given to them and their lao pos, and they were also not given any special information to win the bid of the rental transactions!
In other words, the investigations found that the two ministers never anyhowly abuse their powers as Ministers for their personal gain.
This report came almost one month after PM Lee said that an independent review will be conducted on the two ministers because of the rental of the black-and-white houses.
And in case you didn’t know hor, the investigation was conducted by the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB), an independent agency responsible for the investigation and prevention of corruption in Singapore, and this was initiated and requested by the two ministers themselves.
Here are the key findings of the report, simplified and summarised for you
A few years ago in January 2017, 一个风和日丽的早上, Shan ge ge decided he wants to rent a black-and-white house along Ridout Road, maybe because new year, new environment, new luck if got good Fengshui.
He then asked for a list of properties available to the public for rent. After visiting a few houses, he decided to rent No. 26 Ridout Road probably because it made his heart goes bedok-bedok and that property had been vacant for more than 4 years liao.
Shan ge ge then appointed a property agent to represent him for the rental transaction. After considering the prevailing market conditions at that time, the monthly rental for the property was maintained at $26,500 per month as determined by Singapore Land Authority (SLA). So this one is SLA say the rental should be how much then he just pay how much loh.
On top of the monthly rental that he is paying hor, Shan ge ge also had to fork out $$$ from his own pocket to repair parts of the house so that it is of livable condition because the house jin chui liao and these repair works not covered by SLA one sia.
Similarly for Vivian ge, who rented No. 31 Ridout Road, because his lao po, Mrs Balakrishnan set her eyes on the property liao, and he cannot say no to his wife bah.
Mrs Balakrishnan offered a bid of $19,000 after taking into consideration of the repair cost and upgrading of the toilet – the property was left vacant for 5 years by the way.
The SLA leasing department also accepted the lease proposal, because the “market rate” then was $18,800, and $19,000 was above the prevailing guide rent loh, so, the tenancy agreement was signed in October 2019. The rental was later increased to $20,000 per month in 2022 after taking into consideration the then-prevailing market conditions.
So hor, they got follow the proper procedures, and they also paid above the “market rate” for their monthly rental one ya. No special discounts ok.
Semo Ridout? What is going on about the black-and-white houses?
The black-and-white houses have been around for a sibei long time liao, longer than you have been alive. These houses were built between 1903 and 1941, and in the past, they mostly housed European colonial and expatriate families.
To date, there are still about 500 of these houses around in Singapore and they are mostly state-owned.
In other words, they are managed and preserved by the SLA. They are not for sale, but they are available for rent – just that the rental is sibei expensive, and you need to bid for it one. That means hor, the higher you bid, the more chance you get to rent.
For those who are kaypoh and curious, a similar black-and-white house at 2 Seton Close in Orchard was rented for $42,800 per month, while another black-and-white bungalow at 14 Stevens Road – near Orchard Road – was rented for $30,823 per month.
The black-and-white houses, or rather, the fact that Ministers K Shanmugam and Vivian Balakrishnan are both renting these houses, came under the spotlight because Reform Party chief Kenneth Jeyaretnam woke up one day and decided to stir shit.
He put out online articles questioning if the ministers were paying less than the fair market value when they rent these houses. If not hor, who will actually go and huan lo (care) how to rent these houses and how much a person has to pay to rent the house??? Not like lao niang can afford it anyway!
So now ah, the investigations have revealed that they were not given any special treatment and their renting process is got follow the procedure one. Can we move on from this saga liao? Lao niang more interested in the #MeToo news and teas happening right now in Taiwan leh!
