A YEAR after Madam Kok Pooi Leng's husband was killed before her eyes, she has lost the house she intended to take refuge in.
Her husband - nightclub boss Lim Hock Soon, 41 - was shot dead, execution-style, in his four-room Serangoon Avenue 4 Housing Board flat last February.
Madam Kok, traumatised by the killing, could not bear to continue living in the same flat and planned to move to the Serangoon Gardens semi-detached house.
But the bank holding the mortgage has taken possession of the property because loan repayments have not been made. It will put up the house for auction again on Jan 18, after an earlier one last week did not attract bids at the opening price.
The house is reportedly not covered by mortgage insurance, which would have allowed Madam Kok to keep the 3,600 sq ft single-storey property.
Mortgage insurance is used to settle outstanding loan amounts when the owner of a property dies, suffers from mental illness or is permanently disabled.
A Straits Times check revealed that the house was bought by Mr Lim in April 2001 for $1.4 million and leased back to the original owner. The title listed only Mr Lim's name and not his wife's as joint owner.
Madam Kok, 34, was listed as a director and shareholder of three of Mr Lim's companies at the time of his death.
He had other business interests too, but was said to have kept a low profile by living in an HDB flat and dressing simply. The Rolex Platinum watch he wore and the Mercedes he drove, however, gave a hint of his wealth.
After Mr Lim's death, his siblings asked the tenant of the Serangoon Gardens house to vacate the premises.
An auction held last week attracted an offer of $1.1 million, below the opening price of $1.3 million.
This led the agent retained by the bank to organise a new auction in a fortnight's time where bids of more than $1.1 million will be considered.
The Straits Times met Madam Kok on Tuesday night at the Serangoon Avenue 4 flat where she now lives with her daughter and mother-in-law.
Looking gaunt and pale, the short and slim Madam Kok declined comment.
Tan Chor Jin, the man accused of killing her husband, was nabbed in Kuala Lumpur 10 days after the shooting by Malaysian police and extradited to Singapore.
His trial for discharging a firearm with intent to injure - a capital offence - will be held in the High Court later this year.
