Man fined $250k over unauthorised works to Desker Road conserved shophouse

A 54-year-old Singapore permanent resident was fined after being convicted on one count of carrying out unauthorised works to a conserved shophouse at 32 Desker Road.

The man, Manickam Nagarajan, was fined $250,000 according to a press release by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) on Wednesday (April 22).

Layan Management, the owner of the shophouse, was also fined $150,000 for allowing Nagarajan to carry out the unauthorised works.

Layan was also handed an additional charge for failing to appoint a qualified person to supervise works on-site, and is required to reinstate and restore the building at its own cost.

According to URA, Nagarajan had purchased the shophouse through Layan in October 2022.

The shophouse is located in Little India, which is one of four historic districts in Singapore where the strictest form of building conservation is practised. 

At the time of purchase, the shophouse was in its original form with key architectural features intact.

"The shophouse's original first storey facade was particularly significant as a rare surviving example of a typical residential front of shophouses built around 1913 to 1914," said URA.

However, Nagarajan proceeded to engage Layan's workers directly, to carry out renovation works to convert the shophouse into a co-living development without seeking necessary approvals from URA.

Based on feedback received, URA conducted an inspection on the shophouse and discovered the unauthorised works on Jan 6, 2023.

A written notice was issued to Layan, informing the company of the breach and to require that works cease, and URA subsequently followed up with inspections to ensure compliance.

Nagarajan and Layan's "blatant disregard for the law" resulted in the demolition of several architectural features of the conserved shophouse, including the first-storey residential front, the rear facade with timber casement windows and green glazed ceramic vents, and the entire rear service block. 

"These were fundamental elements of the conserved shophouse that contributed to its character and should have been fully retained when works were carried out," URA said.

"Conserving built heritage is an integral part of Singapore's development," said Kelvin Ang, director of URA's conservation management department, adding that Layan and Nagarajan's "egregious breach of the law" led to the "irrevocable loss" of the original heritage fabric of a rare historic pre-war building. 

"The parties had knowingly contravened URA's Conservation Guidelines and wilfully proceeded with the unauthorised works, demonstrating a blatant disregard for the regulations," he said.

"Nagarajan and Layan's actions have led to the irreversible loss of heritage value of the historic shophouse, which had stood for more than a century," said URA, who added that the case is the first prosecution for unauthorised works to a conserved building since the Planning Act 1998 was amended in 2017.

[[nid:733646]]

dana.leong@asiaone.com