I pushed her because I couldn't breathe, says 'landlord' accused of attacking tenant's wife

It appears that the landlord-tenant drama in Midview City which made headlines recently has yet another twist — the 'landlord' accused of illegal subletting has hit back against his tenant's allegations.

The man, who is accused of lying about owning the unit and breaking into it, had obtained the landlord's verbal consent to sublet the space, he told Lianhe Wanbao.

He also claimed he had only pushed his tenant's wife as he was being choked.

The man's tenant, Don Tan, had blasted him in a Facebook post yesterday (Dec 2), writing that the former had physically attacked his wife and three-year-old son on Nov 21.

Tan also alleged that the man trespassed the office on Nov 22, drilled holes in the wall, installed his own lock and stole the memory card from his surveillance camera.

After finding out that the man was not the owner of the property, he has since signed a tenancy agreement with the legitimate owner, Tan said.

Defending himself in an interview with the Chinese evening daily, the man, who remains unidentified, admitted to pushing Tan's wife. However, he denied biting her.

"That woman kept pulling my collar. I pushed her because I was choking and could not breathe," he said.

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He also maintained that he was never notified that his agreement with the original landlord had been terminated.

He has not been able to contact his landlord or Tan, and only found out about the termination after the altercation with Tan's wife, he asserted.

The man went on to deny the allegations of illegal subletting, claiming that his landlord had verbally agreed to him subletting the space.

"Even if you want to end the contract, you should communicate with me properly. You should not go behind my back to sign a new agreement with the new tenant."

The man also denied stealing the memory card from Tan's surveillance camera and maintained that he entered the office on Nov 22 as its legal tenant as he had not been notified of the termination.

He even called the police after seeing Tan unlock the office door, the latter recounted to the newspaper.

However, the 'landlord' eventually left the office after Tan showed the police officers on the scene documents stating that the man's tenancy agreement had been terminated.

The man is currently under investigation in relation to a case of voluntarily causing hurt and a case of theft, police confirmed.

Tenant living in office space, says 'landlord'

He had only visited the office on Nov 21 to conduct a check as he had not been able to contact Tan, the 'landlord' said.

He also had suspicions that Tan was living in the office. "At the time, I saw a fridge and a mattress. There were obviously people staying there. I have a responsibility to ensure that the unit is not being used illegally."

Responding to the man's allegations, Tan, who sells computer parts, explained he and his wife work overtime whenever they have more orders to fulfil and occasionally spend the night at the office.

The family has a home in Woodlands, he added.

Written permission needed before subletting

Subletting is illegal if the tenancy agreement contains clauses against it. In such a case, the tenant would need to obtain the landlord's written permission before subletting the space.

An appropriate notice period should also be given if either the landlord or tenant wishes to terminate their agreement early.

If the tenant has breached the terms of the tenancy agreement, the landlord may make arrangements to evict them.

This includes making a formal demand for the tenant to leave the property and formal notice spelling out the details of the breach.

kimberlylim@asiaone.com