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Coffeeshop Chit Chat - Do u think he is a "Serial Defaulter" ?</TD><TD id=msgunetc noWrap align=right>
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</NOBR> </TD><TD class=msgDate width="30%" noWrap align=right>Oct-3 10:53 pm </TD></TR><TR class=msghead><TD class=msgT height=20 width="1%" noWrap align=right>To: </TD><TD class=msgTname width="68%" noWrap>ALL <NOBR></NOBR></TD><TD class=msgNum noWrap align=right> (1 of 6) </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR><TR><TD class=msgleft rowSpan=4 width="1%"> </TD><TD class=wintiny noWrap align=right>22224.1 </TD></TR><TR><TD height=8></TD></TR><TR><TD class=msgtxt>Serial defaulter gives lowest priority to S&C charges
Mr Lim Beo Thiam (photo 2) lives in a three-room flat in Beach Road, is now jobless and faces a growing pool of debt.
He has taken to letting out one of his two bedrooms for $600 a month. He has no other income.
Meanwhile, he is in arrears of $3,471 in service and conservancy (S&C) charges.
The $600 he gets goes to food, utility bills, medication and topping up his mobile phone's prepaid card.
'The S&C charges are last on my priority list because they don't directly affect me,' Mr Lim, 52, said candidly.
He still has a home to return to, and his corridor still gets swept.
On the other hand, when he failed to pay his utility bills, electricity was cut off and the water supply slowed to a trickle.
He said he had not been paying his S&C charges regularly since 2004 and has been hauled to court four times. Each time he agreed to an instalment plan, only to default later.
'I pay up after a home visit or when the court letter comes,' said Mr Lim, who lost a leg to diabetes in 1999.
He has been unemployed for 18 months since the coffee shop where he was working as a cashier folded. The A-level holder once owned an Internet cafe business but it went bust due to intense competition.
He still owes the Housing Board housing loans and is waiting for his divorce to be finalised before deciding whether to sell his flat. He has two teenage children.
When 'desperate' for money, he turns to his two siblings who he says are 'quite well to do'.
Asked if he will try to pay off his arrears, he said the town council must first waive the accumulated $561 in late penalty fees which he said are out of proportion to the monthly S&C fee of $36.
'If the penalties are waived, I will think of ways to pay,' he said. 'Don't let me feel the pinch of these unnecessary fees.'
When approached, the Jalan Besar town council said it has helped Mr Lim in instalment plans for his arrears and allowed him to defer his payments several times.
It added that Mr Lim started to default on S&C payments from 1999 when he first bought the flat and was still employed.
It had also agreed to waive the penalty fees if he adhered to the instalment plan. Legal action was a last resort.
When told that the town council had in fact agreed to waive the penalty fees, Mr Lim insisted that it had not.
He added: 'I know it's my fault that I can't pay all the fees, but when you have limited resources, you need to prioritise.'
Mavis Toh
[email protected]
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Mr Lim Beo Thiam (photo 2) lives in a three-room flat in Beach Road, is now jobless and faces a growing pool of debt.
He has taken to letting out one of his two bedrooms for $600 a month. He has no other income.
Meanwhile, he is in arrears of $3,471 in service and conservancy (S&C) charges.
The $600 he gets goes to food, utility bills, medication and topping up his mobile phone's prepaid card.
'The S&C charges are last on my priority list because they don't directly affect me,' Mr Lim, 52, said candidly.
He still has a home to return to, and his corridor still gets swept.
On the other hand, when he failed to pay his utility bills, electricity was cut off and the water supply slowed to a trickle.
He said he had not been paying his S&C charges regularly since 2004 and has been hauled to court four times. Each time he agreed to an instalment plan, only to default later.
'I pay up after a home visit or when the court letter comes,' said Mr Lim, who lost a leg to diabetes in 1999.
He has been unemployed for 18 months since the coffee shop where he was working as a cashier folded. The A-level holder once owned an Internet cafe business but it went bust due to intense competition.
He still owes the Housing Board housing loans and is waiting for his divorce to be finalised before deciding whether to sell his flat. He has two teenage children.
When 'desperate' for money, he turns to his two siblings who he says are 'quite well to do'.
Asked if he will try to pay off his arrears, he said the town council must first waive the accumulated $561 in late penalty fees which he said are out of proportion to the monthly S&C fee of $36.
'If the penalties are waived, I will think of ways to pay,' he said. 'Don't let me feel the pinch of these unnecessary fees.'
When approached, the Jalan Besar town council said it has helped Mr Lim in instalment plans for his arrears and allowed him to defer his payments several times.
It added that Mr Lim started to default on S&C payments from 1999 when he first bought the flat and was still employed.
It had also agreed to waive the penalty fees if he adhered to the instalment plan. Legal action was a last resort.
When told that the town council had in fact agreed to waive the penalty fees, Mr Lim insisted that it had not.
He added: 'I know it's my fault that I can't pay all the fees, but when you have limited resources, you need to prioritise.'
Mavis Toh
[email protected]
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