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Strife divides House of Israel
Dispute among residents over sale of $1.8 million home goes to court
A Former member of the House of Israel has asked the High Court to let him sell the detached house that is still home to other members.
The group was in the news in 1994 when its leader, Anne Joseph Aaron, her husband Joseph Aaron and group member John Abraham sued The Straits Times for labelling the religious group a “sect” in a report.
The High Court dismissed the case, concluding that the group was indeed a sect.
Yesterday, it was Mr Steven Joshua, 56, who faced off against Mrs Aaron, 55, and her husband, 57; Mr Samuel Abraham, 39, and his wife Lydia, 38; and Mr Aquila Moses, 40, and his spouse Priscilla, 34.
Mr Joshua wants to sell the house, valued at $1.8 million, in Sembawang so he can split the proceeds between himself and his wife, two sisters and brother-in-law — who are also defendants — in proportion to their financial contributions.
He wants the other six defendants to leave the property and pay damages for trespassing since February 2002.
But Mr Joshua’s wife and sister — Deborah, 55, and Rachel, 50, respectively — and the three couples are saying no. They said Mr Joshua held 80 per cent of the property in trust in equal shares for the nine of them, himself included.
His other sister Rebekah, 47, and her 49-year-old husband are claiming the remaining 20 per cent — which was granted to them in a previous deal under a no-sale condition.
The disputing parties had begun living together in the house in 1986 but trouble started brewing in 2000.
Mr Joshua said he found it increasingly difficult to live under the dictates of Mrs Aaron and alleged that she and others had assaulted him in July 2002.
After the alleged incident, he served notice to the three couples.
Mr Joshua alleged that he had used his savings, CPF contributions and the proceeds from the sale of his SIA shares and another property to help pay for the $700,000 house. His wife, two sisters and brother-in-law also pitched in through their CPF monies.
He argued that they had not promised any beneficial interest in the property to the other six occupants.
The living plan was “merely a domestic arrangement motivated by Christian charity” toward Mrs Aaron.
Yesterday, the court tried to pin down the sum of money Mr Joshua had put into the common pool allegedly used to pay for the house.
A former pilot who now works for a security firm, Mr Joshua claimed the bulk of his salary was kept in a biscuit tin managed by his wife and Mrs Aaron.
To this, the judge asked: “Are you telling me there’s a biscuit tin? … There’s still people putting money in a biscuit tin?”
The court heard that at one point, there was over $100,000 in the tin. The hearing continues.
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