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Unlicensed property agent faces five charges for carrying out lease deals
A 56-year-old Singaporean man was slapped with five charges in court on Wednesday (21 September) for handling property deals despite being an unlicensed agent.
Shakir Khan had also been charged with 17 counts of cheating, forgery and theft in dwelling earlier this year after being on the run for 10 years.
His offences as a bogus agent were uncovered after the Council of Estate Agents (CEA) conducted a review of property advertisements in February this year.
In May 2012, Shakir closed a lease deal for a HDB flat in Kallang. Despite not being an agent with HSR International Realtors, he used the agency’s letterhead to prepare the lease document. The landlord of the flat only found out that Shakir was no longer a HSR agent after failing to find him at the agency’s offices.
On two occasions in August 2011 and August 2012, Shakir was asked to assist a tenant to renew the lease for a flat in Bedok. Even though he was no longer a HSR agent nor a CEA registered agent, he received a total of $2,600 in commission for assisting in the lease renewal.
In September 2012, a licensed HSR agent met Shakir and collected a cheque deposit from him for the rental of a flat in Pasir Ris. But she was suspicious about Shakir’s name card and found out later that he was a bogus agent. She then informed the landlord that the flat could not be leased to Shakir’s client.
In early 2016, Shakir assisted another tenant to rent a flat in Ang Mo Kio and collected $700 in commission even though he was not licensed to do so.
It is an offence under the Estate Agents Act (EAA) for an entity or individual to act as an estate agent or salesperson in any property transaction without a license or a registration with the CEA.
To check whether an entity or individual is licensed or registered, the CEA advises consumers to check via the Public Register on the CEA website.
