SINGAPORE — Outraged by reports of unscrupulous business practices
at Sim Lim Square, members of the public have taken matters into
their own hands to dish out justice, as they called for more action
by the authorities.
Personal data of the owner of Mobile Air — the Sim Lim Square
retailer which, when ordered by the Small Claims Tribunal to refund
a customer, tried to pay the customer S$1,010 in coins — were
exposed via a campaign by satirical Facebook group SMRT Ltd
(Feedback) yesterday (Nov 4). These posts featuring addresses of
his various businesses, photos of him posing shirtless, his mobile
number, have received thousands of likes, with some calling for
pranks to be played on him.
Another campaign was launched by Mr Gabriel Kang raised funds via
crowdfunding platform Indiegogo to buy an iPhone 6 for the
Vietnamese tourist Pham Van Thoai, a Mobile Air customer who
reportedly went down on his knees to beg for a refund for the S$950
phone but recovered only S$400.
The campaign, launched this afternoon, aimed to raise US$1,350
(S$1,688) for Mr Pham but has since exceeded its target, raising
US$6,286 as of 10.30pm.
Mr Kang, an owner of a robotics start-up, told TODAY that he felt
“really bad” for Mr Pham and felt such unfair practices reflected
badly on Singapore. The 37-year-old had wanted to buy a phone for
Mr Pham, but realising that many others wanted to do so as well,
decided to start a crowdfunding campaign.
A check by Channel NewsAsia also revealed that Mobile Air owner
Jover Chew closed his shop at Sim Lim Square today. The Consumers
Association of Singapore (CASE) said 25 complaints had been lodged
against the shop from August to October.
Commenting on the backlash against Mobile 22, CASE Executive
Director Seah Seng Choon said the public’s strong reaction is
“inevitable” and that errant retailers “should have known
better”.
“Netizens are also consumers themselves and of course there is no
stopping them from dispensing their own justice in cyber space. We
just want to advice that they do so within the ambit of the law,”
said Mr Seah.
CASE has invited Mobile Air to sign a Voluntary Compliance
agreement (VCA) and will take legal action if they refuse to do so,
said Mr Seah, adding that CASE will continue to keep a “close
watch” on the practices of Sim Lim Square shops.
While the incidents have led some to complain that CASE has been
ineffectual in handling consumers’ grievances, Mr Seah said the
association works behind the scenes and will take appropriate
action when necessary.
Most businesses which sign VCAs stop engaging in these unfair
practices, he said, adding about 70 per cent of disputes between
businesses and consumers have been resolved over the past
decade.
todayonline
