SINGAPORE – A former condominium management council chairman has lost a defamation suit against his successor, after a court found that he had failed to properly disclose his links to two businesses that did work for the estate, including one owned by his wife.
Mohamed Rafi Mohamed Kassim, who chaired the management council of Yew Tee Residences in Choa Chu Kang North from 2017 until July 30, 2024, sued Cherlyn Ang Kwee Hiang over remarks she made at a residents’ meeting in September 2024.
Ang said at the meeting that several council members had failed to declare conflicts of interest. She highlighted that Mohamed Rafi owned two businesses, AZH Engineering Services and AZH Consultant, which had been engaged for several of the condo’s projects, and questioned whether they were trying to hide this connection.
She described the situation as a “serious breach of trust” and an “obvious conflict of interest”, and alleged a “misuse of power”.
But District Judge Evans Ng, in a judgment on Oct 29, dismissed his claim after finding that Ang had substantially proved her allegations.
Failed to properly disclose interests in two businesses
The judge found that Mohamed Rafi had failed to properly disclose his interests in the two AZH businesses, which had provided services to the condominium’s management corporation between 2020 and 2024.
He had also provided quotations from the businesses to the estate’s managing agent and participated in at least one decision to award work to one of them.
The judge said the evidence justified the allegations of an undisclosed conflict of interest, the misuse of his council position and a serious breach of his governance responsibilities.
The case arose from an extraordinary general meeting held on Sept 28, 2024, attended by condominium owners, their representatives and the management agent.
Mohamed Rafi took issue with Ang’s remarks at the meeting, arguing that they conveyed that he had breached the law, dishonestly concealed his interests, abused his position to benefit himself and could not be trusted.
The court accepted that her words were defamatory – as they harmed Mohamed Rafi’s reputation in the eyes of others – but found that they did not go as far as accusing him of deliberately concealing his interests in a dishonest scheme to enrich himself by securing contracts for the businesses.
Under the Building Maintenance and Strata Management Act, a council member with a direct or indirect financial interest in a matter before the council or management corporation must declare that interest and abstain from considering, discussing and voting on the matter. The law also treats an immediate family member’s interest as the council member’s own.
AZH Engineering Services, a sole proprietorship, was registered in February 2001. Mohamed Rafi owned it briefly before his wife became its owner in March of that year. He is also a director and 50% shareholder of AZH Consultant, which was incorporated in July 2008.
Both AZH businesses provided various services to the condominium, including temperature-taking during the COVID-19 pandemic, plumbing repairs, and the repair and installation of doors. Invoices produced in court showed that they billed the management corporation 19 times between 2020 and 2024.
Between 2019 and 2024, Mohamed Rafi signed annual declarations of interest required by law. These declarations stated that, to the best of his knowledge, he had no actual or potential conflict of interest concerning services provided under contracts between the management corporation and its service providers.
None of the declarations disclosed his interests in the two AZH businesses, the judge noted.
The judge found that, from September 2020 onwards, these declarations were inconsistent with his interests and the businesses’ dealings with the condominium.
In March 2021, Mohamed Rafi emailed the council secretary to declare his shareholding in AZH Consultant, saying he had not previously been aware that it needed to be declared.
He also said he would abstain from procurement activities relating to services provided by the company.
But the judge found that the email did not state the extent of his shareholding or disclose his directorship. The email was also not shown to have been brought to the attention of the other council members.
The disclosure was inadequate and, in any event, came after the company had already issued at least eight invoices to the condominium, the judge noted.
Mohamed Rafi had also made no declaration identifying his wife’s ownership of AZH Engineering Services or his interest in it.
The judge further found evidence of his involvement in the businesses’ dealings with the management agent then.
A representative of the managing agent, RealtyLink Consultancy, had initially said he approached the AZH businesses for quotations without Mohamed Rafi’s involvement.
However, under cross-examination, he admitted that Mohamed Rafi was the only person from the businesses that he dealt with. The representative also said Mohamed Rafi had given him quotations from the AZH businesses.
“This proves (Mohamed Rafi’s) involvement in (the AZH businesses’) dealings with the management agent, although it does not prove that he personally procured the award of every contract,” the judge said.
Voted to award contract to wife’s company
More significantly, the court found that Mohamed Rafi voted by email in June 2023 in favour of awarding a contract to AZH Engineering Services.
“By participating in a decision benefiting his wife’s business without having properly disclosed his interest, (Mohamed Rafi) acted in conflict with his fiduciary duties,” the judge said, adding that the email vote “supports the allegation that he misused his council position”.
In dismissing the suit, the judge said Ang did not have to prove that Mohamed Rafi had procured every contract or engaged in a deliberate scheme of concealment and self-enrichment, as those allegations were not conveyed by her remarks.
“The defence of justification succeeds,” the judge said.
Mohamed Rafi was represented by I.R.B. Law while R. E. Law acted for Ang.
