SINGAPORE: Many Singaporeans online have expressed disapproval over the actions of a 62-year-old woman who recently sued her elderly mother, 91, who had evicted her from their condominium in 2021.
Rita Kishinchand Bhojwani sued her mother and slapped a lawsuit against her family’s company, HVS Properties, that owns the unit at The Seafront on Meyer, and another against a director at the company.
Ms Bhojwani called her eviction “unlawful” and said it had gone against an “arrangement” that she could live at the residence indefinitely.
However, finding that her side of the story “lacked detail and credibility, and was internally inconsistent,” the High Court dismissed the case. On April 28, Judicial Commissioner Christopher Tan issued written grounds concerning this judgment.
“Once (the mother’s) evidence was baked into the mix and the plaintiff’s evidence scrutinised holistically, the cracks at the seams of the plaintiff’s case were highly visible,” AsiaOne quoted him as having written.
Ms Bhojwani had also initiated legal actions against her brother. Her family, however, has said that her irrational behaviour is what caused them to evict her.
In 1994, Ms Bhojwani returned to the family home with her son. Sixteen years later, they all moved to the condominium unit, which is located on the East Coast. According to her, due to an understanding with her parents and the company, she is permitted to live at the unit without needing to pay rent.
In 2021, however, when she found out that her brother had been named by their 93-year-old father as the donee in a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA), she began to say that her father had been forced to sign the LPA. She even contested the LPA in Family Court, saying that her father had not been of full mental capacity when he executed the document. Her mother sided with her brother in the matter.
She was banned from the condominium unit in August of that year, and she found her belongings packed up outside the unit on Aug 25.
According to Sin Chew Daily, Ms Bhojwani was employed by the family business for 36 years, receiving a $2,000 monthly salary. Her mother also gave her an allowance of $1,000 a month.
Many commenters have since condemned Ms Bhojwani for suing her family.
“This one, when young, parents never discipline. Grow up, become a leech,” wrote one Reddit user.
“What is wrong with you, girl? Go get a life… pay your own place and bills like everyone else,” a commenter on Facebook added.
“Get your own job instead of mooching off your family’s business for decades,” wrote another.
Others wrote that she is a good example of why children should grow up to be self-supporting adults.
“The reason why everybody should depend on themselves, a roof over your head, if not, such situations would happen,” one wrote. /TISG
Read also: Malaysian landlord struggles with non-paying tenant—Seeks advice on eviction process