Man fined S$250,000 for illegal renovation of Little India heritage shophouse

The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) has taken firm enforcement action against a company and an individual following the unauthorized demolition of key architectural features in a rare historic pre-war conserved shophouse.

Irreversible Loss of a Conserved Shophouse

The URA stated that the actions of Nagarajan and the company Layan resulted in the “irreversible loss of heritage value” for a building that had stood for more than a century. The unauthorized works included the demolition of the first-storey residential front, the entire rear service block, and the rear facade featuring timber casement windows and green glazed ceramic vents.

Court documents further revealed that original brickwork, plaster render, stucco decorations, and glazed shiwan ceramics were also demolished during the process.

Kelvin Ang, director of URA’s conservation management department, described the incident as an “egregious breach of the law.” He noted that while the building may eventually be reconstructed, the authentic historic materials cannot be recovered or replicated.

Enforcement and Regulatory Breach

The illegal renovation works were discovered in January 2023 after the URA conducted an inspection prompted by feedback. Following the discovery, a written notice was issued to Layan ordering an immediate cessation of work.

Mr. Ang stated that the parties knowingly contravened URA’s conservation guidelines and proceeded with unauthorized works, demonstrating a “blatant disregard for the regulations.”

The URA emphasized that the destroyed elements were fundamental to the character of the shophouse and should have been fully retained. Layan is now mandated to restore and reinstate the building at its own expense.