RESIDENTS of Eng Lok Mansion heaved a collective sigh of relief last week when the deadline for an appeal to the High Court to block the estate's collective sale came and went without any being filed.
The Napier Road estate's sole hold-out, 80-year-old Madam Chow Ai Hwa, has finally backed down from a six-month-long stand-off with her neighbours which had threatened to scupper the sale.
The retired nurse lost her case at the Strata Titles Board last month, but had vowed then to take it further by appealing to the High Court, in a bid to save what has been her home for the last 37 years.
Madam Chow also acted for her son, who owns another apartment in the 64-unit Eng Lok Mansion, but now lives and works overseas.
She had claimed the method of distribution of the sale proceeds was unfair to those who own bigger units, like she and her son do.
The estate's sales committee had decided to split the $138 million pie equally among all 64 owners, even though there were six different unit sizes ranging from 118 to 146 sq m.
She also made her case on emotional grounds, saying that her late husband's spirit would be lost and would not know where to find her if she was forced to move out.
But Madam Chow missed last Wednesday's deadline for filing an appeal against the board's decision to allow the sale.
A few weeks ago, she had met the estate's sales committee to discuss a possible settlement, but could not come to any agreement.
The estate's lawyer, Mr David De Souza, confirmed that he had not received any notice of appeal.
Madam Chow told The Straits Times on Thursday: 'I wanted to continue fighting against the sale, but no one supports me. I'm old and I'm tired already.'
She is now recovering in hospital after suffering a fall in her home last Thursday.
The deal, which will see each owner pocket $2.156 million, will now be sealed on Jan 10. The owners have till July to move out.
A resident there, who wanted to be known only as Ms Tan, said: 'We all expected Madam Chow to appeal, so we kept our plans to look for a new place on hold.
'But now that she cannot appeal anymore, we can start our house-hunting.' Ms Tan, 39, went with her husband and two children to view several property showrooms over the weekend.
Napier Properties offered $138 million earlier this year for the 70,810 sq ft plot, which is located just beside Gleneagles Hospital.
The developer intends to build a 46-unit freehold condominium there.
