Clause 6

The Controller shall, on receipt of any notice to attach and sell, sell by public auction or otherwise to either a citizen or an approved purchaser the estate or interest in the residential property or land specified in the notice at the following time:

where any application is made to the Controller within the time limited under section 6A(2) or (3) to fix the reserve price for that estate or interest in the residential property or land, at any time after the reserve price is fixed in accordance with section 6A; or

where no such application to fix the reserve price is made, at any time after the expiration of the time period allowed for any application to fix the reserve price under section 6A(3)(b)(ii).(2) In order to attach and sell any estate or interest in any residential property or land specified in any notice to attach and sell, the Controller shall lodge with the Registrar —

in the case of any residential property or land which is registered land, an application in the approved form to register the notice to attach and sell that property or land; or

in the case of any other residential property or land, a copy of the notice to attach and sell relating to that property or land.(3) The Registrar shall —

on receipt of the application referred to in subsection (2)(a), register the application in the relevant volume and folio of the land-register in the Land Titles Registry of the Authority and enter the appropriate memorial that the Controller has attached the residential property or land concerned and is empowered to transfer the registered estate or interest in that property or land; or

on receipt of the copy of the notice to attach and sell referred to in subsection (2)(b), enter a note in the books and other records maintained at the Registry of Deeds of the Authority that the residential property or land concerned has been attached by the Controller.(4) On lodgment of an application or a copy of the notice to attach and sell in accordance with subsection (2), the Controller shall have the power —

to sell the estate or interest in the residential property or land described in the application or copy, as the case may be, and all other powers relating or incidental thereto as if the Controller were the proprietor of that estate or interest in the residential property or land; and

to execute any instrument to effect a transfer of that estate or interest in the residential property or land,and any such transfer executed by the Controller shall be conclusive and shall not be challenged or called in question in any court.(5) The foreign person whose estate or interest in the residential property or land remains the subject of any notice to attach and sell, or its subsisting mortgagee or chargee (if any) shall —

within a period of 21 days after the reserve price for that estate or interest is fixed under section 6A; or

if no application to fix the reserve price is made under section 6A, within a period of 21 days beginning on the date immediately following the expiration of the period specified in subsection (1)(b),deliver to the Controller the title deed or certificate of title of the residential property or land, as the case may be, and in default of such delivery, the Controller shall not be obliged to produce to the purchaser of such estate or interest in the residential property or land any other title apart from the certified true copy of the title deed or a replacement certificate of title thereto.(6) Where the Controller is unable to sell any estate or interest in the residential property or land at or above the reserve price fixed under section 6A for that estate or interest, the Controller shall postpone the sale for a period of 2 years, and thereafter shall proceed to sell that estate or interest in the residential property or land, as the case may be, by public auction or otherwise at any price, whether that price is higher or lower than the reserve price.(7) Where the Controller has sold an estate or interest in any residential property or land under this section, the Controller shall without delay apply those proceeds of sale —

firstly, in payment of all costs (such as legal costs, survey costs and valuation costs), charges and expenses properly incurred incidentally to or in connection with the sale of the property or land (including any previous unsuccessful sale under this section) between the date of the notice to attach and sell that property or land and the date of the sale (both dates inclusive); and

secondly, in payment of the balance, in order of priority, to the foreign person who was the owner of the estate or interest in the residential property sold and any person having a prior interest to such owner or representative as shown in the relevant records in the Land Titles Registry or the Registry of Deeds of the Authority, as the case may be,except that where there is any dispute as to the apportionment of these proceeds between the persons referred to in paragraph (b), the Controller shall pay the balance into court.(8) Nothing in this section shall prevent a foreign person on whom a copy of a notice to attach and sell is served from selling on his own accord his estate or interest in the residential property or land concerned to a citizen or an approved purchaser.(9) Where a foreign person has sold on his own accord his estate or interest in the residential property or land concerned under subsection (8), the foreign person shall be liable to reimburse the Controller for all legal costs, survey costs, valuation costs and any other costs, charges and expenses incurred by the Controller with a view to a sale (including any previous unsuccessful sale) under this section of the property or land between the date of that notice to attach and sell and the date the Controller is informed by the foreign person that the property or land has been sold by the foreign person (both dates inclusive).(10) Where the Controller is of the opinion that circumstances have arisen since the lodgment of the application or copy of the notice referred to in subsection (2) which renders the sale of any estate or interest in any residential property or land concerned impracticable, whether on account of an earlier sale by a person permitted under subsection (8) or the occurrence of an event, such as the winding up of a foreign company, the issue of an order of attachment for the same property or land by any court or otherwise, the Controller shall refer the relevant particulars of the residential property or land to the Minister with a statement setting out his reasons as to why it is impracticable to sell the property or land.(11) The Minister may, on receipt of the Controller’s statement under subsection (10), countermand his direction to the Controller to attach and sell the estate or interest in the residential property or land in question by cancelling his notice to attach and sell that residential property or land.(12) Where the Minister has, pursuant to subsection (11), countermanded his direction to the Controller to attach and sell any residential property or land, the Registrar shall —

in the case of any residential property or land which is registered land, cancel the registration of the notice to attach and sell that property or land on receipt from the Controller of an application for that purpose made in the approved form; or

in the case of any other residential property or land, register a memorial of discharge of the notice to attach and sell that property or land,and thereafter, the Controller shall not have any power referred to in subsection (4) in relation to any estate or interest in that residential property or land.(13) In this section and section 6A, any reference to a foreign person includes —

a reference to a mortgagee or chargee; or

a reference to the person’s legal personal representatives if he is deceased and a notice has been issued by the Minister under section 3(6) in relation to any estate or interest of the foreign person in residential property or land.Reserve price6A.—

Where the Minister has issued a notice to attach and sell an estate or interest in any residential property or land specified in the notice, the following persons may, subject to subsection (3), apply to the Controller to fix a reserve price for that estate or interest in the residential property or land:

any foreign person who is the owner of that estate or interest in the residential property or land, or his legal personal representatives if he is deceased;

the mortgagee or chargee of that residential property or land first entitled in priority (referred to in this section as the first mortgagee or chargee); or

any mortgagee or chargee of that residential property or land next or subsequently entitled in priority (referred to in this section as the subsequent mortgagee or chargee).(2) Any application under subsection (1) by a foreign person shall be made no later than 28 days after he receives a copy of the notice to attach and sell.(3) An application under subsection (1) by a mortgagee or chargee of any residential property or land shall be made as follows:

in the case of the first mortgagee or chargee —

if and only if there is no application under subsection (1) by the owner of the same residential property or land, or his legal personal representative if he is deceased; and

no later than 45 days after the expiration of the period limited under subsection (2) for the owner or his legal personal representative to make such an application; or

in the case of a subsequent mortgagee or chargee —

if and only if there is no application under subsection (1) by the owner of the same residential property or land, or his legal personal representative if he is deceased, and there is no application under this subsection by the first mortgagee or chargee; and

no later than 45 days after the expiration of the period limited under paragraph (a)(ii) for the first mortgagee or chargee to make such an application.(4) The reserve price for any estate or interest in any residential property or land shall be the mean average of 2 valuations of that property or land, namely, one submitted by a valuer appointed by the Controller and the other by a licensed valuer appointed by the foreign person or the mortgagee or chargee, as the case may be, applying to fix the reserve price.(5) The expenses of any valuation made under this section shall be borne by the foreign person (or by his estate if he is deceased) or the mortgagee or chargee applying to fix a reserve price under subsection (1), as the case may be.”.