The matriarch purchased an apartment that was supposed to have a scenic view, but was shocked to find abandoned graves instead. Three years ago, Asian superstar Jay Chou's mother purchased a 96-square metres luxury apartment for her son, in Danshuei district, New Taipei City. She paid a hefty price of NT$30 million (S$1.2 million) for the place, because she was attracted by the three-dimensional figure of the apartment during the pre-sale and the advertisement. The ad promised a scenic view of the Danshuei river, Datun mountain ranges and Guanyin mountain ranges. However, when Jay's mother returned to the 21-storey apartment to take a look at the scenery, she was shocked to find abandoned graves instead. The matriarch believed that the building contractor purposely hid the fact and requested the termination of the contract and a refund. However, the contractor demanded Jay's mother to compensate for the breach of contract, which angered the older woman. She decided to sue the contractor for "false advertising", asking for a refund of NT$8.26 million (S$350,000), with punitive damages of up to NT$1 million (S$42,700). The case was heard on Oct 7. Both Jay and his mother were absent from the trial, commissioning a lawyer to handle the affair instead. "Jay's family decided to go to court because they want to uphold justice and to teach the contractor a lesson," their lawyer said. He added that when Jay's mother first signed the contract, the apartment had not been built and the thick trees blocked the cemetery. While she knew there was a temple near the apartment, Mrs Chou -- a devout Christian -- did not know that the temple was dedicated to the deceased. Mrs Chou sued the contractor under the Fair Trading Act and the Consumer Protection Law in July. Jay's company JVR Music responded on behalf of the singer -- who was performing in Singapore then -- that Jay "fully supported his mother to take legal action". Meanwhile, the contractor maintained their stance, claiming that they only knew about the unregulated graves, after half of the apartment units were sold. They had already made an application to have the graves relocated. Furthermore, the graves were located on a slope, which made them barely noticeable. Currently, a notice board was erected at the site, stating that as of July 30, the graves had been relocated. Jay's mother is due to go on trial on Nov 1 for further investigations, as statements from both parties differ greatly. Creds: xinmsn
