Owner, construction firm fined for unauthorised works on conserved shophouse in Little India

A shophouse owner has been fined $250,000 and a construction company fined $150,000 for unauthorised works carried out on a conserved shophouse unit in Little India.

In a case described as an “egregious breach of the law”, the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) said in a statement on April 22 that the actions of Manickam Nagarajan, the owner, and construction firm Layan Management, have “led to the irreversible loss of heritage value of the historic shophouse, which had stood for more than a century”.

URA, which oversees Singapore’s conservation programme, noted that the fines mark the first prosecution for unauthorised works on a conserved building since the Planning Act was amended in 2017 to introduce stiffer penalties over unauthorised demolition works on conserved buildings.

Nagarajan, 54, in October 2022, purchased 32 Desker Road, a two-storey shophouse in Little India, through Layan Management, a company owned by his wife, Ms Subramaniam Deepa.

Little India is among the first areas to be legally protected under Singapore’s conservation programme, which formally began in 1989.

According to URA, the shophouse was, at the time of Nagarajan’s purchase, in its original form with key architectural features intact.

These included its original first-storey facade – a rare surviving example of a typical residential front of shophouses built around 1913 to 1914 – which was characterised by a double-leaf timber door flanked on both sides by timber-framed casement windows.

Despite knowing that the shophouse was a conserved building requiring URA’s conservation permission for any renovation works, Nagarajan proceeded to engage Layan’s workers directly to carry out renovation works to convert the shophouse into a co-living development without first seeking the necessary approvals, said the agency.

A statement of facts presented to the courts noted that Nagarajan – a permanent resident and an Indian national – owned five other conserved buildings in Singapore, and had previously applied for and obtained conservation permission for works on two of these buildings.

Based on the statement, Nagarajan had, in November 2022, invited a contractor, Globalpoint Far East, to make a quote for renovation works to be carried out on the shophouse.

Globalpoint Far East then brought along representatives from AJ+J Architecture, including a Qualified Person – a registered architect – to conduct a site inspection.

According to URA’s conservation guidelines, applications for conservation permission for works that affect the key elements of conserved buildings have to be submitted by a Qualified Person.

The statement of facts said Nagarajan felt that Globalpoint Far East’s quote – which included engagement fees of the architect – was “too high, and he wanted to quickly renovate the shophouse and rent it out”.

He then proceeded to have Layan Management’s workers carry out renovation works, without appointing any Qualified Person to advise him on the works.

On Jan 6, 2023, URA inspected the shophouse after receiving feedback, and discovered unauthorised works, which included demolition and construction works.

A URA enforcement officer verbally warned the workers at the shophouse to stop all works, while Layan Management was warned in an e-mail on Jan 10 that year that conservation permission was to be obtained before the start of any works to the building.

Two days later, on Jan 12, Layan Management was given a written warning by registered mail to stop all works at the shophouse immediately.

However, on Jan 17, 2023, a second URA inspection revealed that works at the shophouse were still ongoing despite the written and verbal warnings.

The site supervisor told URA’s inspection team that he was aware of the written warning served to Layan Management on Jan 12.

By this time, walls on the shophouse’s first storey had been demolished, while stair treads had been laid on a new staircase. The shophouse’s rear court had also been roofed, while its wall had been topped up with fresh bricks that were not present during the Jan 6 inspection.

URA’s statement said that Nagarajan and Layan Management’s “blatant disregard for the law resulted in the demolition of several architectural features of the conserved shophouse”.

It noted that fundamental elements of the conserved shophouse – including its rear facade with timber casement windows and green glazed ceramic vents, as well as the entire rear service block – had been removed, and that these should have been fully retained when works were carried out, as they contribute to the shophouse’s character.

Mr Kelvin Ang, director of URA’s Conservation Management Department, said: “The parties’ egregious breach of the law led to the irrevocable loss of the original heritage fabric of a rare historic pre-war building that had endured through time.

“While the building may eventually be reconstructed, its authentic historic materials cannot be recovered or replicated, and new materials will have to be used in its rebuilding.”

For carrying out unauthorised works on a conserved shophouse, Nagarajan was fined $250,000, while Layan Management was fined $150,000 for permitting Nagarajan to carry out the unauthorised works.

An additional charge for failing to appoint a Qualified Person to supervise works on-site was taken into consideration by the court in sentencing Layan Management.

Nagarajan and Layan Management could each have been sentenced to a fine of up to $500,000, jail of up to 12 months or both for their respective offences.

Source: The Straits Times © SPH Media Limited. Permission required for reproduction.

Most S’pore firms do not disclose how CEO pay is set; regulators want to change that Jail term upheld for woman who lied about address to enrol daughter in primary school