Re: Sengkang "temple" - 3 Day Old $1 Company Can Win HDB Tender
HDB PULLS A JOVER CHEW AND BLAMES FERNVALE LEA RESIDENTS FOR NOT READING THE FINE PRINT
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Post date:
5 Jan 2015 - 11:38pm
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PAP Member of Parliament (MP) Lam Pin Min said that brochures for potential buyers of Fernvale Lea had stated that a columbarium will be built but future residents who have bought their flats there have refuted that and said that they have been deceived.
Mr Lam had claimed" "Although (the plan for the columbarium) was indicated in the brochures, some of them might have missed it and felt that because they weren’t given prior notice, they could not make an informed decision," Lam also said.
However, newly-released brochures showed that this was not true.
The brochure actually said, "These facilities may include other ancillary uses allowed under URA's prevailing Development Control guidelines".
But there is no mention of the "columbarium".
Also, on the map itself on the brochure, it was only written that the site was reserved for a "Chinese temple".
But it was later discovered that the "columbarium" was only mentioned in very, very small print in font size 2 next to the map, beneath the notes section.
But this incensed the future residents of Fernvale Lea.
Was there an intention by the government to conceal the information that a columbarium was going to be built?
Furthermore, it was also discovered that
Life Corporation, the company which won the tender to build the columbarium had actually won it in July last year, or half a year ago.
Residents are thus perplexed as to why they were only informed of plans of a columbarium only six months down to road.
Even as the HDB and URA had claimed that a columbarium was indicated on the brochure, the fact of the matter was that the government already knew a columbarium was built in July last year.
Why did it not inform future Fernvale Lea residents then? Also, why were the brochures not amended to reflect in right-sized font that the columbarium would be built?
Why did the HDB not change the mention on the reserve site from "Chinese temple" to "columbarium" or even "columbarium-cum-Chinese temple"?
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This has caused netizens online to compare HDB's actions with the now infamous Jover Chew.
Netizens have compared HDB with how Chew had made his customers pay a deposit before revealing to them about the additional costs hidden in the fine print and when the customers then asked for a refund, after having found that they have been cheated and scammed, that Chew would not make a refund.
And not only that, even where the consumers then made complaints to CASE, CASE and even the police both said that they could not do anything against scam retailers like Chew.
But netizens have said that HDB's actions aren't too different.
Potential buyers of Fernvale Lea paid a deposit to apply for the BTO but they were not told of a columbarium that would be built in the fine print.
When they asked for a refund, HDB would only say that "it would look into the residents’ request for a refund".
And when future residents asked to speak to
Mr Lam, Lam only said, "We have to leave it up to the HDB and URA to assess the situation."
Very clearly, the location of a columbarium is a sensitive issue and it is the responsibility of the government and its planners to highlight this openly and in right-sized font in the brochures.
It is thus irresponsible for the government to not mention this upfront.
It is even more wrong for Mr Lam to blame the residents for having "missed" the font size 2 mention of the columbarium.
Where the government would not state upfront clearly and boldly that a columbarium would be built, it is thus natural that future residents to question if there was an intention to hide the information that a columbarium would be built.
If so, the right thing to do is for the government to be transparent and honest.
But will the PAP government do so?
Do you see lang tau lah! Pay up and fcuk off, you Stinkees! *hee*hee*
