Breaking the lease, leaving the country

[bogdang]

Analyzing my options in anticipation of retrenchments.

So.. say I quit paying rent and leave SG.
The owner has the right to terminate the lease for non payment of rent.
I suppose he could sue me for the remaining 8 months, but I will be out of the country and my bank account will have a balance close to 0.
I don't think the EU or the US would extradite me to SG

Feasible?

[road.not.taken]

I don't think the EU or the US would extradite me to SG

Oh! if wishing made it so!

You probably don't care, but it's actions like that that make it harder for the rest of us.

Won't your new landlord want a reference?

[louy]

Also means you may have a lot of trouble coming back in the future.

So it may be a short term view. Who knows where your job may lead you in the future. Maybe two or three years down the line, the most perfect job comes up, and they may want to employ you, especially with your experience in Singapore and Asia from previous. You would be gutted then.

[Saint]

The OP is on a PEP so doesn't give a toss as most probably wont be able to get employment pass here again anyway.

Thanks OP for giving us decent Expats a bad name!

[VanofVA]

If you skipped out, they couldnt chase you down. But they could sue and you could have a judgement on you in Singapore. If you evercame back to Singapore, a) you could possibly be detained until you settle your judgement,, b) they may not let you get another green card should you ever wish to return.

I left Singapore in 2005 and hadnt settled my taxes yet because IRAS hadnt given my company a final #. A few weeks later they told me I owed them over $100K in taxes. I could have ignored it and just never planned to go to Singapore again. But I knew in my heart that (besides being the right thing to do) I might like to return someday so I paid. I ended up returning to Sing in 2006 so I'm glad I did.

You should have a diplomatic clause in your lease anyway that let's you get out with a penalty (1 or 2 months rent) if you leave the country.

[Boog]

agree with the rest.

never shut your own door. always keep all your doors(opportunities) open.

[sierra2469alpha]

If you have a diplomatic clause in your lease I *THINK* you can exercise that if you get retrenched. I am *UNSURE* if that is just a company lease or also a personal lease thing. I know Saint and others have much more knowledge on this area that I do.

That being said - I agree with the sentiment of the other posters - you came here and you should do the right thing. How would you feel if someone went to your COO (Country Of Origin) and skipped out on your fellow citizens? I hate hearing about these retrenchments but it's happening and that's life - if one is not prepared for what life throws them, then I don't see any point in being a bastard about non-preparedness. Settle your dues, and if you can't, as VanofVA says, it's the right thing to do, and just enter into an agreement to pay them.

As a final note - eventually, you'll run out of countries or economies to hide in if you want to take your "options" any further. Singapore does indeed have extradition treaties, but I am not about to give you my time to explain them to you, but I will say one thing - just because a country does not have a direct extradition treaty with your new "leased life", doesn't mean your next "leased life" country doesn't have an extradition treaty with one who does.

Seems you think more about your so-called rights about extradition than your responsibilities to the country that allowed you not only into its borders, to live here, but gave you an opportunity to WORK here.

It's not often that R.N.T and I see eye-to-eye, but I certainly agree with them on this one - you do kind-a give the decent ones a bit of a bad name.

Unless, of course, there is something you're not telling us and maybe we read your original post in the wrong way?

[EDIT] MS.C just added: Remember each time you travel into a country you need to in almost every country, sign a declaration that you have not been refused entry to another country, and in some cases, if you are subject to legal action in other countries. So, each time you are on that flight, and you sign NO, you are openly and knowlingly committing an offence of the country into which you are about to disembark. Talk about writing your own BURN notice.

[EDIT] Addendum: All APEC countries share information pertaining to known/pending court cases on individuals within their economies. I just looked up the Singaproean law and found that if indeed there is a judgement against you as a foreigner (depends on the judgement), and you attempt to re-enter Singapore, you will be held (depending on the court in which it's issued) and taken before a court of equal or higher status and remanded in custody. There is case law available should you choose to discover it. Read into this what you will, given my posting about treaties within this post.

Do we have to GUILT you into doing the right thing?


HTH, Mr. P

[Edits: 2 major edits: Ms. C comments, one addendum from Mr. P]