Real estate company director allegedly misappropriated $400,000 in maintenance fees from 4 condos
A 55-year-old Singaporean company director will be charged on Dec 17 with criminal breach of trust by agent and forgery-related offences.
Between April 2021 and May 2024, the police received and investigated several police reports in which Judy Chong Chio Tee – whose company is in the business of real estate management – had allegedly misappropriated maintenance fee payments from residents of four condominiums.
The company was the appointed managing agent of the four condos.
Its responsibilities as managing agent included managing the finances of the Management Corporation Strata Title (MCST), such as handling the monthly maintenance fees from residents.
While the normal procedure was for residents to issue cheques to the respective MCST's bank accounts for the maintenance fees payments, Chong offered alternative modes of payment to the residents, such as paying her in cash or making transfers to her company's bank account.
Between 2017 and 2024, she allegedly misappropriated more than $400,000 in maintenance fees paid by the residents.
She also allegedly falsified invoices, forged bank documents and audited financial statements to conceal her misappropriation.
An offence of criminal breach of trust as agent carries a jail term of up to 20 years and a fine. Forgery for the purpose of cheating is punishable by up to 10 years' imprisonment and a fine, while falsification of accounts carries a jail term of up to 10 years and/or a fine.
