Six individuals who ran illegal short-term accommodation operation found guilty and fined over one million

1   Six Singaporean men aged between 33 and 81 have been found guilty for their involvement in unauthorised short-term accommodation at 31 private residential properties. Koh Guohui, Robin (Koh, 41), Lim En Xiang, Pandy (Lim, 33), Chew Lam Yong (Chew, 61), Low Ah Tee (Low, 81), Chua Lian Beng (Chua, 71), and Chow Yan Kit, Ryan (Chow, 34), have been sentenced to fines totalling $1.27 million. Koh was sentenced today, while the other five individuals were sentenced between August 2024 and March 2025¹.

Case details

2   Between July 2019 and November 2021, Koh had engaged Lim, Chew, Low, and Chua, to be part of an unauthorised short-term accommodation operation in return for a monthly salary. Koh was the key player behind the operation and also the sole director of a company registered as SG Auto Car Pte Ltd², which he used to facilitate these illegal activities. 

3   Lim, Chew, Low, Chua and Chow each served as the sole director of one of four companies — KCA Pte Ltd, Edrich Group Pte Ltd, Ed Werks Holdings Pte Ltd, and ANZ Management Services Pte Ltd — at different times. Acting under Koh’s instructions, they signed tenancy agreements in their capacity as company directors, for a total of 31 private residential units sourced by Koh. 

4   However, Koh subsequently advertised these units on online accommodation platforms such as Airbnb and HomeAway, subletting them for stays of less than three consecutive months — the minimum stay duration required under the law — in return for payment of rent. The payments received from these occupants went to Koh, who used multiple bank accounts as well as mobile phone numbers and host accounts registered under different aliases on the online platforms, to facilitate his unauthorised short-term accommodation operation.

5   The offences came to light after the management council of a private residential development filed a report with the authorities about suspected short-term accommodation use at one of the units rented by Edrich Group Pte Ltd. URA ascertained the scale of the operations with feedback from residents and managing agents in other developments involving private residential units rented by Edrich Group Pte Ltd.

URA to continue to take firm action against unauthorised short-term accommodation

6   Under the Planning Act, the minimum stay duration for private residential properties is three consecutive months, with stays shorter than this duration constituting an offence punishable under the Act. This rule is intended to prevent frequent turnover of transient occupants, which can potentially change the residential character of a property and negatively impact neighbouring residents.

7   Martin Tan, Director of URA’s Development Control Group, said, “URA takes a serious view of the unauthorised use of private residential properties for short-term accommodation and we will continue to investigate such cases. We will take strict enforcement action against individuals and entities who are found to be involved in any way, be it by facilitating the transfer of revenue or sourcing for properties and occupants. This will include prosecution in Court for severe cases where we will also press for deterrent sentences.”

8 Members of the public play an important part in safeguarding their neighbourhoods against illegal short-term accommodation in private residential properties. The public can report suspected cases via URA’s website (https://eservice.ura.gov.sg/feedbackWeb/). All information provided will be kept strictly confidential.

¹ The breakdown for the number of charges and fines imposed on each of the six men are:
• Koh – 31 charges, sentenced and fined $1,144,902.10 on 15 September 2025
• Lim – Seven charges, sentenced and fined $24,500 on 27 March 2025
• Low – 14 charges, sentenced and fined $32,500 on 18 December 2024
• Chew – Eight charges, sentenced and fined $26,800 on 11 November 2024
• Chow – Four charges, sentenced and fined $32,000 on 24 October 2024
• Chua – Three charges, sentenced and fined $8,000 on 29 August 2024.

² The company was renamed to SG Bizloan Consultant Pte Ltd in July 2021.