Yang Yin saga widow's bungalow on sale, price expected to top $35m

[reporter2]

Yang Yin saga widow's bungalow on sale, price expected to top $35m

Feb 23, 2018



The house at the centre of a bitter, high-profile dispute between a former China tour guide and a rich Singaporean widow has been put up for sale with an expected price of above $35 million or $1,100 per square foot on land.

Madam Chung Khin Chun's bungalow in Gerald Crescent sits on a plot of land that is about the size of half a football field.

Her niece Hedy Mok, the appointed deputy public trustee for the estate's administration, had reportedly said before that the bulk of the proceeds from this land sale would go to charity.

An old single-storey bungalow now sits on the freehold site spanning 31,882 sq ft.

Handling the sale is Ms Suzie Mok, senior director of Investment Sales at Savills Singapore.

"A substantial 999-year or freehold landed residential pocket such as 2F Gerald Crescent is a scarce find in the Seletar area given that such plots are tightly held, and seldom made available for sale," she said."It is also a rare opportunity to secure a decent size plot under single ownership for immediate redevelopment."

Nestled in the landed neighbourhood in Seletar Hills, the site is zoned for three-storey mixed landed residential use.

It can potentially accommodate 11 landed houses comprising two detached houses, a pair of semi-detached and seven terraces.

Extolling the location of the site, Savills said that Seletar Hills is fast transforming and gaining popularity, given the nearby amenities along Jalan Kayu and Seletar Aerospace Park, Seletar Mall and Greenwich V, and also recreational options such as The Punggol Park Connector.

The Seletar Aerospace Park is expected to boost demand for housing, and attract both local and foreign professionals. The site is also near Rosyth School, Lycee Francais De Singapour and Australia International School.

Ms Mok said she expects the site to draw interest from a diverse group of buyers, given the multiple redevelopment options.

"It will appeal to developers for potential sub-division into landed conventional housing schemes, Singaporean families for their own stay or multi-generational living and wealth preservation for future generations, investors or high net-worth buyers," she said.

The tender for the property will close at 2.30pm on March 22.

Madam Chung was previously embroiled in a bitter dispute with former China tour guide Yang Yin over her assets, including the land.

After acting as Madam Chung's tour guide when she visited China in 2008, Yang moved into her bungalow a year later, brought his family subsequently and got the widow to make a will where he stood to inherit her assets. The will has since been thrown out by the courts.

Yang was sentenced to 11 years and two months' jail in 2016 for cheating the wealthy widow of $1.1 million and duping the authorities into granting him permanent residency.

[reporter2]

Gerald Crescent bungalow on offer at over S$35m

31,882 sq ft site in Seletar was at the heart of a high-profile dispute between widow who owns it and a former tour guide from China

Fri, Feb 23, 2018

Lynette Khoo


A HOUSE that was at the centre of a high-profile dispute - between a former tour guide from China and a Singaporean widow who owns it - has been put up for sale with an expected price of above S$35 million or S$1,100 per square foot on land area.

Madam Chung Khin Chun's bungalow in Gerald Crescent sits on a plot that is about half the size of a football field.

Her niece Hedy Mok, the appointed deputy public trustee for the estate's administration, reportedly said earlier that the bulk of the proceeds from the land sale would go to charity.

A single-storey bungalow now sits on the freehold site spanning 31,882 sq ft.

Handling the sale is Suzie Mok (who is no relation), senior director of investment sales at Savills Singapore.

"A substantial 999-year or freehold landed residential pocket such as 2F Gerald Crescent is a scarce find in the Seletar area given that such plots are tightly held and seldom made available for sale," she said.

"It is also a rare opportunity to secure a decent size plot under single ownership for immediate redevelopment."

Located in the landed neighborhood of Seletar, the site is zoned for three-storey mixed-landed residential use.

It can potentially accommodate 11 landed properties comprising two detached houses, a pair of semi-detached and seven terrace houses.

Extolling the attributes of the site, Savills said Seletar Hills is fast transforming and gaining popularity given the nearby amenities and recreational options.

The site is also near reputable schools while the neighbouring Seletar Aerospace Park is expected to boost housing demand from both local and foreign professionals.

Ms Mok said she expects interest from a diverse group of buyers, including developers who may sub-divide the site into landed conventional housing schemes, investors or high- net-worth individuals.

With a 45-metre frontage along Gerald Crescent, the site is about one-and-a-half storeys below road level. Ms Mok noted that this could be an advantage for the incoming developer as that creates a natural basement and may result in lower construction costs.

If the developer builds three storeys above this basement, future residents will have a decent view of the surroundings, she said.

The tender for the property will close at 2.30pm on March 22.

Madam Chung was previously embroiled in a bitter dispute with former China tour guide Yang Yin, who got the widow to make a will where he stood to inherit all her assets, including the bungalow.

But the will has since been thrown out by the courts. Yang was sentenced to jail in 2016 for cheating the widow of S$1.1 million and duping the authorities into granting him permanent residency.

Madam Chung and her late spouse had originally bought the 71,000 sq ft site from Bukit Sembawang Estates for S$40,000 in 1961, and built a bungalow and garden on it. The sprawling garden, spanning 39,000 sq ft, was later sold.

Christopher Marriott, CEO of Savills South-east Asia, said: "We recognise the importance of this conclusion for the vendor and will endeavour to have this instruction handled sensitively and appropriately - in the maximum interest to both the family and the site."