| HOW far would you go over a compensation dispute with the Housing Board?  | | Mr Wong (above, right) and his sister on the void deck of the block they now share a 1-room HDB flat in. -- ALVIN TOH | This brother-and-sister pair refuses to cash two cheques totalling $66,000, money due to them after their Hougang flat was compulsorily acquired by HDB. They had not paid their monthly instalments to HDB for five years. Mr Wong Fook Loong and his sister, Ms Wong Sui Kheng, both in their late 40s and jobless, live in a one-room rental flat now. And they face the prospect of having their water and electricity cut off, also for non-payment. Their only source of income is from collecting and selling aluminium cans, and they refuse to look for better-paying jobs. In June last year, the siblings made news when they moved into a corner of the void deck of their Hougang block after seeing a compulsory acquisition notice pasted on their door. HDB eventually took over the four-room flat and paid them for it. They were to get $66,000 after deducting what they still owed, fees and charges and what had to go into Mr Wong's CPF account. But the two are so stubborn that they have refused to cash the cheques. They feel they are entitled to more money. Despite falling behind in repayments for five years, they insist they should not be penalised for late payments. Now the money may have to be held by the court if they go on refusing to take it. CHEQUES EXPIRED An HDB spokesman said: 'We had informed the siblings to bank in the cheques before the six months' validity period expires or HDB would have no choice but to deposit the money to the court for custody.' The cheques expired on 20 Oct. These had been issued in April, after earlier cheques expired. The spokesman said: 'We will arrange to issue the cheques one last time and are in touch with the siblings to remind them that they will have to incur additional cost of getting the money once it is in the court's custody.' The spokesman added: 'In HDB's past encounters with them, they appear to be distrustful of people and are fearful of being cheated.' The siblings are unusual in other respects. They 'don't remember' when they last held a proper job. The Straits Times reported last year that Miss Wong worked as a clerk until her late 20s when her company closed down. Mr Wong was a machinist until seven years ago when his company also closed down. The Wongs, who said they subsist on plain white rice, do not have a telephone, television or air-conditioning. They insisted that they cannot get proper jobs until they get full compensation. Mr Wong said: 'Only when we can pay for our bus fares and meals, can we afford to get a job.' WHY CAN'T THEY AGREE? The siblings have kept up their battle with the HDB for a year, claiming HDB still owes them more than $3,600. 'I won't cash the cheques unless we get the full amount (of more than $70,000),' Mr Wong said. HDB took over their flat last year and gave them more than $150,000 in compensation, about half of which went into Mr Wong's CPF account. At that time, they owed the HDB close to $40,000 for the flat, which was bought in 1987. This was factored into the compensation sum. The Wongs moved into a one-room rental flat in Hougang, and HDB sent them cheques for over $33,000 each. Mr Wong said: 'They deducted administrative, stamp and late payment fees from our compensation money. This is not correct.' They should each get more than $35,000, he insisted. Every week, they said they visit the HDB branch in Hougang either three or four times. They have also written several letters. Mr Wong said: 'They just keep telling us that we have to pay. But we refuse.' Mr Wong claimed that they surrendered their flat and that it was not a compulsory acquisition. Therefore, they should not have to pay these fees. However, an HDB spokesman clarified: '(They) refused to sign the documents to surrender the flat, for fear of being cheated. Due to the siblings' financial condition and mental state, it was clear that they could not service their mortgage instalments.' So HDB proceeded with the compulsory acquisition. HDB also said the Wongs would have to pay the fees whether they had surrendered the flat or not. (See report on page 4.) But they will not accept these explanations. Ms Wong said: 'Now we cannot afford to pay our electricity and water bills and they will soon cut off both.' They have outstanding payments of over $300. They had lived without water and electricity for six years before leaving their old flat. But Mr Wong still insists: 'If we cash in the cheques, we are saying that they are correct, so we will not cash them in.' | 
