SMS Murali Pillai: Police investigating US man who refused to pay rent to elderly Singaporean couple
SINGAPORE: A report from last month that a man from the United States had refused to continue to pay rent to the elderly Singaporean couple who owned the home that he and his family had moved to received a lot of attention from Singaporeans, especially after it was discovered that it was not the first time he had done this.
Under a shell company, Anthony Thomas Price had rented a semi-detached house at Lengkong Dua from a Singaporean couple in their 80s for $7,500 a month. He and his family signed a contract to live there from May 1, 2026 to April 30, 2028.
The company, Noranth Ventures, paid for the first month’s rent as well as half of the rental deposit of S$15,000, and nothing else. From June onward, the tenant’s family lived there rent-free.
After the landlords took Mr Price to court, the judge decided in their favour and ordered him to pay them S$17,031.98 for legal costs and expenses alone.
In a new development in the incident, Senior Minister of State for Law Murali Pillai said in Parliament on Wednesday (Nov 4) that the police are investigating Mr Price.
Members of Parliament had filed questions regarding using shell companies to rent homes and avoid rental payments.
The Senior Minister added that, additionally, the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) has also launched a probe into possible breaches of the Companies Act by the entities and individuals involved in Mr Price’s actions, and that the Official Receiver is looking into possible fraudulent trading and wrongful trading offences.
If he is found guilty of cheating, he could be fined or caned, or receive a prison sentence of as long as 10 years, or a combination of the penalties.
However, as the case is under investigation, Mr Pillai said he would not say more, and added, “Nothing I have said should be taken as a view on whether an offence has been committed.”
Mr Price’s case had revealed that the American had a pattern of renting properties, paying only at the beginning, and then refusing to pay any more, identifying the defects in the properties as his reason for non-payment. And when the owners would attempt to recover their properties, he would resort to legal means, taking the landlords to court, meanwhile staying in their homes for as long as he could.
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District Judge Chiah Kok Khun found a "pattern of using shell companies to rent residential premises,” as there were two other court proceedings where Mr Price was involved.
The address of Noranth Ventures is a virtual office in Paya Lebar Square, and its shareholders are Mr Price and his wife. It has a paid-up capital of $200. /TISG