Four estate agents were fined and their licences suspended for failing to handle client funds in accordance with the Practice Regulation. These agents were also found to have unreasonably withheld client money and demanded the client to sign an unconscionable document for the return of the money.

In this case, a prospective purchaser found a property to his liking through an estate agent. He signed the provisional agreement for sale and purchase unilaterally, and gave a provisional deposit of $3,000 in cash to the agent. The next day, before the vendor accepted his offer, he informed the agent that he had decided not to buy the property and demanded the return of his deposit money. However, the agent was reluctant to return the cash despite repeated requests from the client. Instead, the agent indicated that the deposit money would not be refunded unless the client would sign another document admitting that the deal had been cancelled unilaterally by the prospective purchaser. The client disagreed and finally, with the intervention of the police, the agent returned the deposit money seven months after the incident.

In the course of its investigation on the complaint filed by the prospective purchaser, the Authority found that the estate agent had, in breach of sections 12(2)(a) and 12(3) of the Practice Regulation, failed to issue a receipt for the deposit money received and put the money in a trust account. The Disciplinary Committee, having carefully considered the testimony of the persons concerned, found that the agent had no right to withhold his client's deposit money or to make him sign an inequitable document. The Committee also concluded that what the agent had done was a matter that would bring the trade into disrepute. Consequently, the agent had his licence suspended for two weeks. The three partners of the company at which the agent was employed were found to have improperly handled the case. They had not complied with the rules on clients' moneys and unreasonably demanded for commission. They were fined and the licence of each of them was suspended for three weeks.