SINGAPORE : Supermarket chain operator Sheng Siong is locked in a court battle with Carilla Pte Ltd over a botched tenancy agreement.
Sheng Siong had planned to covert a three-storey building in Kallang Bahru into a supermarket and a food court after signing a lease agreement with Carilla in March 2009.
It also put down a S$450,000 security deposit to lease the building, formerly known as Mandarin Theatre, for eight years.
Sheng Siong was also expected to pay S$112,000 per month in the first year of the lease.
In
April 2009, HDB rejected the supermarket proposal as it did not want to
intensify the competition for the existing industry, though the food
court proposal was allowed by the authorities.
An appeal made by Carilla to HDB was also turned down in June 2009.
Sheng Siong then sued Carilla for a return of the deposit as well as the legal fees incurred during the lease proceedings.
At
the opening of case in the High Court on Monday, Sheng Siong's lawyers
Willie Yeo and Lim Chee San argued that the contract made between the
parties is a conditional agreement where Carilla must first obtain
approval from HDB before granting the lease.
They also said that
it was Carilla's duty to obtain permission from the authorities on the
change in use of premises and that the signed agreement had been amended
without their knowledge.
In response, Carilla's lawyer Marina Chin said the lease agreement was not subject to approval of the building's usage.
Carilla
counter-claimed that Sheng Siong failed to obtain permission from the
authorities for a supermarket, and did not propose alternatives - hence
the forfeiture of the security deposit paid by Sheng Siong.
The hearing continues on Tuesday.
- CNA/al
I can already decide whos the biggest winner.
The H.D.B. will not allowed Shing Siong to set shop there,because NTUC supermarket is just next door,sure affect its business.
Originally posted by veron soh:The H.D.B. will not allowed Shing Siong to set shop there,because NTUC supermarket is just next door,sure affect its business.
But at NEX mall, NTUC is on the 3rd floor, and cold storage is in the basement?
Originally posted by veron soh:The H.D.B. will not allowed Shing Siong to set shop there,because NTUC supermarket is just next door,sure affect its business.
True, this happened in the Whampoa bid i heard too.