FOR 50 years, cafe owner Mohanlal Ramchand Daswani and his mother lived happily together under one roof.
He said that he was her main caregiver, and paid for all her medical bills.
Today, they do not talk to each other - all because of a lawsuit over a Savannah CondoPark apartment in Simei, which Mr Mohanlal, 51, bought last year.
His 86-year-old mother, Mrs Ishwaribai Ramchand Daswani, accused him of using her money to buy the four-bedroom apartment and putting it under his name.
The money had come from the $1.06 million proceeds that she had received from the collective sale of the family home in Phoenix Mansion along Cairnhill Road in 2005.
He claimed she had given him the money to buy the apartment for himself. He is married with two children. Mother and son settled the case last week after a day-long trial, but bitterness lingers.
MAN VERSUS SIBLINGS AND DAUGHTERPAYA LEBAR CRESCENT PROPERTIES, JULY 2007: Businessman Chang Ham Chwee (left), 68, is suing his daughter, who has a low IQ, and three siblings for three properties worth $9 million. His late mother bequeathed a bungalow to him and two other houses to his daughter, Ms Chang Lee Siang (right), 48, and three other siblings including Chang Hung Hor (top right), 67. But he claims all three belong to him as they were bought with profits from the family business which he ran. The case is still being heard. Photos/ TERENCE TAN, FRANCIS ONG
SON VERSUS MOTHERSAVANNAH CONDOPARK UNIT, JULY 2007: Mrs Ishwaribai Ramchand Daswani (right), 86, sued her son, Mr Mohanlal (left), 51, for using her money to buy and register a $700,000 condo unit under his name. He claimed, however, that she gave him the money and instructed him to list the unit under his name. Mr Mohanlal conceded the case a day after trial began as he did not want his mother to go through 'such a difficult time'. Photos/ TNP
COUSIN VERSUS COUSINMITRE HOTEL, KILLINEY ROAD, MAY 2007: Mr Chiam Heng Hsien (left), 62, was sued by his cousin Mr Chiam Heng Luan, 93, and other relatives over the Killiney Road property. Mr Chiam Heng Hsien claims a 1948 agreement allows operators to occupy it indefinitely, but his relatives - including Heng Tin (right), Heng Chow (above right) and Siew Juat (top right) - want it sold. The judge agreed. Photos/ ST & TNP
MOTHER VERSUS DAUGHTER AND SON-IN-LAWTELOK KURAU HOUSE, FEBRUARY 2007: Madam Hwang Chow (left) sued her daughter, Madam Ong Foon (right), and son-in-law, Mr Tay Peng Keng (far right), to claim more than $520,000 in profits from the sale of their house in Telok Kurau. The couple argued that her share was only $146,000, as more than $920,000 of the $1.39 million received from selling the house was repaid to OCBC Bank and the CPF Board. Her daughter died three days after the lawsuit was filed last year. After the case was settled in February, Mr Tay paid his mother-in-law $325,000. Photos/ WANG HUIFEN, TNP, WANBAO
Mr Daswani, the sixth child of seven children, said he is disappointed with his mother's demands and would rather 'cut off all ties' with her.
His mother has declined to comment.
At a time of rising property prices, property disputes involving family members have been hogging headlines.
Besides Mr Daswani's case last week, there was also the lawsuit businessman Chang Ham Chwee brought against his low-IQ daughter and three siblings over three Paya Lebar bungalows worth at least $8 million.
In the past two years, there have been at least seven reported cases of families feuding over properties.
Lawyers interviewed by The Sunday Times said anecdotal evidence suggests that the property boom - residential property prices jumped 8.3 per cent from April to June this year alone - could have played a part in quarrels over property.
One lawyer, Mr V. Subramaniam, said that while people have become more aware of their rights, the property boom has made it 'more worth their while to bring the case to court'.
Wong Partnership lawyer Andre Maniam agreed. 'It is a function of the property market,' he said.
He is representing Mr Chiam Heng Hsien, 62, who is up against his family who wants to sell the 40,000 sq ft of prime land in Killiney Road on which Mitre Hotel sits.
The family had tried to sell the site at the height of the last property boom in 1996. Mr Chiam, who has a 10 per cent share of the property, reportedly refused to allow the sale unless he received $21 million.
This year, the family returned to court. The judge has ruled that the site will be sold by public tender and ordered Mr Chiam to vacate the site at least four weeks before the sale is completed.
However, it has not been decided whether he will be compensated.
The property is currently estimated to be worth $100 million - nearly 30 per cent more than its last offer of $72 million in 1997.
After rulings are made, however, reconciliation in most cases is near impossible.
Mr Daswani has agreed to return his mother 95 per cent of the apartment's current value - about $845,000 - but said: 'I think at this point, enough is enough. I need to get on with my life.'
Mr Chiam of Mitre Hotel said: 'I don't think the relationship can be the same again.'
His cousin, Sloane Court Hotel founder Chiam Heng Luan, 93, who led the other relatives in the court battle against Mr Chiam, could not be reached for comment.
Businesswoman Chan Siew Khim, 69, who is battling her 68-year-old brother, Mr Chang Ham Chwee, said it is 'shameful' for family members to wash their dirty linen in public.
In court, Mr Chang, a businessman, sits separately from his siblings and they avoid eye contact.
'Why must it turn out like this?' his sister laments.
It is a question which Mr Chew Tong Seng, 72, and his wife, Ng Mui Yan, 68, too ask themselves.
They successfully sued their eldest son after he sold their Cactus Road shophouse in Yio Chu Kang for $890,000 and kept the money.
Madam Ng said in Mandarin: 'We worked hard to bring him up, but now we just get heartache.'
The parents have not spoken to their son since the case concluded in 2006. They have five sons.
When contacted, their son Mr Chew Cheng Quee, 45, a businessman, who is married with two sons, said he has been 'deeply hurt'.
'We have got along for over 40 years...I can lose the money, but relationships, cannot. I can't even eat or sleep properly now,' he said in Mandarin.
One year after his wife's death, taxi driver Tay Peng Keng, 57, still cannot bring himself to talk to his mother-in-law, who sued the couple for more than $520,000.
Madam Hwang Chow, then 79, said that was her share of proceeds from the sale of a three-storey house in Telok Kurau they had jointly bought, then sold in August 2005 for $1.39 million.
After the case was settled in February, Mr Tay paid his mother-in-law $325,000. Three days after receiving the court papers, Madam Ong Foon died of cancer. She was 51 years old. The couple have one daughter.
Mr Tay now says: 'I just want to stay as far away as possible from them.'
The Sunday Times tried to contact Madam Hwang through her lawyer but she did not respond.
Madam Chan, however, is already certain of one outcome: 'Because of money, a family becomes like this...Money can be earned, but kinship cannot be.'
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