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AFTER dragging on for 12 years, the legal saga over the sale of the Mitre Hotel site finally ended on Friday. The proprietors of the dilapidated hotel will still have to move out; and the 40,000 sq ft of prime plot of land in Killiney Road will still be sold.
But the 'lone ranger' who had resisted the sale will no longer bear the brunt of the legal battle costs.
A three-judge Court of Appeal on Friday dismissed an appeal by Mr Chiam Heng Hsien, 62, and Mitre Hotel Proprietors (MHP), the partnership that runs the hotel.
These are the only two parties - each holding a 10 per cent stake in the land - who have held out against the other 11 owners of the site, who wanted it to be sold.
The court threw out Mr Chiam's argument that he had the right to stay on the property indefinitely and that he should be compensated for being booted out. However, the court made some adjustments in terms of legal costs.
The High Court, which earlier ruled against Mr Chiam, had ordered him and Mitre Hotel Proprietors to bear the legal costs of the other parties. But the appeal court on Friday ordered all the parties involved to bear the costs, which are to be paid out from the proceeds of the sale.
The site was been put up for public tender last year. It is understood that a few bids have been received.
The drawn-out legal battle began in 1996, when Mr Chiam fought off a move by his cousin Heng Luan and his daughter to sell the land.
Mr Chiam, the only living partner of the hotel, continued staying in the hotel.
Finally, in April last year, the High Court ordered the property be sold via public tender and the hotel proprietors to clear out.
Justice Judith Prakash also laid down the rules for the sale, directing that a valuation be done on the site, which must be kept confidential.
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