AMERICAN couple George Raymond Zage III and Kaori Kathleen Zage come to court dressed modestly.

But look closely and you will spot a large diamond on Mrs Zage's ring finger.

She also wears a single strand of pearls around her neck and is always seen with her green Bottega Veneta handbag, which costs no less than $2,000.

However, it is the couple's property purchase that has come under the spotlight.

The Zages, who are also Singapore permanent residents (PRs), have been in court the last two weeks in a bid to recover about $3 million of the $10.7 million lost when their lawyer David Rasif made off with the money.

Mr and Mrs Zage, both in their late 30s, had entrusted the money to Rasif's law firm, David Rasif & Partners, to complete the couple's purchase of a $11.4 million bungalow in Belmont Road, off Holland Road.

THE HUMBLE MR ZAGE'S (LEFT) BUSINESS involves buying companies and building or reconstructing them, and then selling them off. MRS ZAGE (RIGHT) GAVE UP HER JOB in private equity at UBS Investment Bank in 2000 and is now a housewife. -- ST FILE PHOTOS

After losing the $10.7 million which would have gone to pay for the bungalow, the couple paid the same sum again to buy the property. They also paid $35,000 in interest for busting the deadline to complete the sale transaction.

All in, the Zages paid over $20 million for the Belmont Road bungalow.

Why spend so much money?

Mr Zage told The Sunday Times: 'I don't think we wanted the event to change our lives or plans, so we decided it was best to go ahead with the purchase.'

He said they had been looking for a landed property and wanted to avoid building a house from scratch. They also liked the bungalow's location and size. Their District 10 home sits on a 15,000 sq ft piece of land.

Foreigners in Singapore are not allowed to buy landed homes, and those who want to do so have to become PRs and get the approval of the authorities.

The Zages, who became PRs in May last year, own four properties here worth at least $16 million.

Previously, the couple lived with their two children in Melrose Park, off Zion Road. The 4,400 sq ft unit, which neighbours say has a roof-top garden, is still listed under their names. They paid $3.2 million for the property in 2002 and are in 'no rush' to sell the place, said Mr Zage.

The agent, who brokered this property had introduced David Rasif & Partners to the Zages. The firm went on to act for them in their other property buys.

The Zages also bought two units at RiverGate, a condominium in the Robertson Quay area which is under construction. The units there are priced at $1,050 per sq ft and range from 1,000 sqft to 4,000 sq ft in size.

Those who have met the couple say they find them to be low-key people.

Parked in their Belmont Road bungalow garage are a Volvo SUV and a Honda. They have a chauffeur and two maids.

In court documents, the Zages said they were not experienced jewellery buyers although Mr Zage has bought his wife a diamond engagement ring and earrings.

Mrs Zage gave up her job in private equity at UBS Investment Bank in 2000 and is now a housewife. Mr Zage, whose grandfather was a Lutheran pastor, is the managing director of asset management company Noonday Asset Management Asia.

His business involves buying companies and building or restructuring them and then selling them off. His company was involved in the purchase and sale of Crown Hotel in Orchard Road in 2005.

He had worked for investment house Farallon Capital Management as its director of Asia and Australia and was Goldman Sachs Singapore's vice-president of investment banking division.

In a bid to get back some of their lost money, the Zages are sparing no expense.

They have engaged the services of Senior Counsel Harry Elias and Ms Melanie Ho of Harry Elias Partnership. Lawyers estimate that the legal bills will easily come up to about $1 million - about $300,000 for the 10-day trial and the rest for the preparation period.

During the trial, which has been adjourned, Mrs Zage was seen to be frequently massaging her temples during a day's proceedings.

She follows the proceedings closely, flipping to the relevant pages and sections of the court documents. In court, Mr Zage is constantly on his Palm Treo, a personal digital assistant - sending or checking messages.

They lunch at the Academy Bistro on the ground floor of the Supreme Court. Staff there say they usually have sandwiches.

Those who have worked with Mr Zage describe him as highly intelligent, focused at work and humble.

His company's legal adviser Yap Wai Ming, 46, said: 'If he were to walk down the street, you wouldn't think he's a millionaire.'

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