Wasteful procedure

This letters was not published by the Straits Times.

26 November 2011 

Editor

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Straits Times

I refer to the reply "Why notice on property cert is crucial" from the Director, Land Titles Registry.

The Director justified the requirement for an advertisement in the Straits Times on the following grounds:

• to alert the public of the lost certificate and to prevent is improper use
• a similar requirement applies to Australia and Canada

I wish to ask the Director to clarify the following:

• how could the certificate be used improperly, when there is a requirement for any interest in the property to be lodged through a caveat with the Registry
• how many cases of advertisements were made in recent years and how many instances were the public notified through the advertisements 
• whether Australia and Canada has a system of registry of land titles that is similar to Singapore that could prevent improper use?
• if other countries, e.g. UK and the USA, have done away with this archaic requirement?
• if the advertisement in a website could have served the purpose, without the need to advertise in the newspaper?

I wish to encourage our government agencies to update our requirements and procedures to reduce cost to the public, without increasing the risk of fraud and abuse.

Tan Kin Lian