Condo’s MC chairman nabbed

THE chairman of the management committee at Laguna Park , recently hit by a spate of vandalism, was arrested this week on suspicion of gluing shut two residents’ apartment doors. 
 
No charges were brought against Mr Lee Kok Leong, 61, who has since been released on police bail.... 
 
The possibility of a collective sale of the units in this seaside estate arose last December. 
 
Residents have until the end of this year to secure an 80 per cent vote to put it up for sale. 
 
So far, 65 per cent have indicated their agreement to it. 
 
Residents have been told by a property valuer that an average unit could be worth more than $2.1 million in a collective sale, and the penthouses, almost $4m.

En bloc spat

FIRST cars, now letter boxes. 
 
Several residents of the Laguna Park condominium in Marine Parade Road had their mailboxes vandalised last night. 
 
In the third such attack this month, vandals used glue to seal the keyholes of eight letter boxes - all belonging to residents who had not signed the condominium's en bloc sales agreement. 
 
For some victims, last night's attack was the second time they had been hit. 
 
Several had their cars damaged last month when vandals threw a corrosive liquid, possibly paint thinner, on them. 
 
Police are investigating.

Car vandals strike again

THE Laguna Park car vandals have struck again: At least two more cars have been hit, including one which had already been targeted before. 
 
Residents of the 530-unit development in Marine Parade Road say the three latest attacks bring the total number of vandalism cases to at least nine in the last month. 
 
Coincidentally, all but one of the cars belong to owners who have not yet agreed to the sale. 
 
As of last Saturday, close to 64 per cent of home owners had voted for the proposed sale, according to notices put up around the estate. 
 
The sales committee has until the end of the year to garner the 80 per cent vote needed to proceed with the deal.

Pro en-bloc vandals damage cars

HUNGER for en-bloc dollars looks to have turned vicious at a quiet private estate in East Coast. 
 
On Tuesday night, two residents of the 530-unit Laguna Park estate discovered that their cars had been doused with a corrosive liquid, possibly paint thinner. 
 
They were among the residents who had not yet agreed to put the seaside development up for sale. Earlier this month, two other cars belonging to the dissenting group were also vandalised. 
 
Residents claim they were the latest of several cases of vandalism that began after the possibility of going en-bloc arose last December. 
 
The estate has until the end of this year to gather an 80 per cent vote to put it up for sale. But so far, residents say less than 65 per cent are onboard. 
 
Residents have been told by a property valuer that an average unit could be worth more than $2.1 million and the penthouses almost $4 million if the estate goes en-bloc. A resident said the market rate for a normal unit now is about $1.3 million. 
 
Some of the holdouts have lived in Laguna Park since it was built in 1977, while others have been there for many years. 
 
Some residents told The Straits Times they were surprised that the sale has fostered so much acrimony. 
 
Five cars have been vandalised in recent weeks, said the outgoing chairman of the condominium's management committee, Mr Chua SC, who declined to give his full name. Some vehicles were doused with a corrosive liquid while others were scratched and splashed with black paint.