A man has been fined S$40,000 for pretending to be a licensed estate agent.
Mr Raymond Sim Soon Leong was sentenced on May 25. He will have to serve eight weeks in jail if he cannot pay the fine.
The Council for Estate Agencies (CEA) said on Monday that Sim was fined for two property transactions.
Sim was charged on 20 October last year representing himself as a sales agent when he was not registered with the CEA.
He advertised two HDB flats for rental on an online property portal under his name and described himself as a sales director of a licensed estate agency.
He also represented clients in making offers, negotiated property transactions directly and conducted flat viewings.
Sim was exposed when a couple checked the “Public Register of Estate Agents and Salespersons” on CEA’s website, and discovered that the photograph of the person shown on the Public Register record did not look like him.
Sim is the second person to be convicted of flouting the rules under the Estate Agents Act.
CEA has reminded consumers to engage salespersons who are registered. Consumers should not respond to any flyer, leaflet or advertisement that does not provide the agent’s details or registration number.