SINGAPORE — By the end of this year, public officers from the Standards, Productivity and Innovation Board (Spring Singapore) could be able to march into any store to seize evidence as part of their investigation against errant retailers, and then file a court injunction for the retailers to stop their business, under proposed amendments to the Consumer Protection (Fair Trading) Act.

As part of the changes mooted, the courts could require retailers under an injunction order to make their status publicly known to consumers, by printing it on sales invoices or in the form of a poster pasted at their shopfront. The courts will also be able to order the offending retailer to notify Spring about any changes, such as a change in business address or name.

Errant retailers who do not comply with injunction orders could also face contempt of court, which carry penalties ranging from a fine to imprisonment.

These proposed amendments, which will cover all registered businesses, including online retailers, will be available for public feedback for more than a month, beginning today. The Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI), which initiated these changes to enhance consumer protection, aims to have the new rules kick in by the end of this year. Spring is a statutory board under the MTI.

Unethical business practices by retailers have been in the spotlight in the past year or so. In 2014, a Vietnamese tourist in Singapore was caught on video begging on his knees for a refund from Mobile Air, an electronics shop at Sim Lim Square. A shop bearing another name was quickly set up in the same month. The shop owner, Jover Chew, and four other employees have been jailed by the courts last year for cheating offences.

Currently, consumers who encounter errant retailers have a few avenues open to them, such as filing complaints and seeking mediation with the Consumers Association of Singapore (Case) and the Singapore Tourism Board (STB). 

Case may also get errant retailers to enter into a voluntary compliance agreement, to agree in writing to stop unfair practices and to compensate consumers. Nineteen such documents have been signed so far.

Similalry, Case and the STB may file court injunctions for the retailer to stop the unfair business practices.

Mr Seah Seng Choon, executive director of Case, said that without the power to investigate retailers, it was difficult to obtain a court injunction. Some cases drag on for up to a year.

Until now, only six injunctions have been obtained under Case and one under the STB.

Mr Seah said that, moving forward, more than 90 per cent of complaints would still be settled through mediation that is handled by Case officers. “Negotiation and mediation is still a speedier way in dispute resolution, as the process for injunctions will take a while and will not result in consumers getting (monetary) compensation,” he added.

In its next move, Case will step up public education efforts on how to seek redress against errant retailers, and provide more information on handling online purchases.

Case’s statistics showed that the complaints filed on online transactions were 159 last year and 146 in 2014. In comparison, there were 3,621 complaints about physical transactions last year and 3,021 in 2014.

With regard to complaints against malls, Sim Lim Square received 113 complaints in 2014, 30 last year, and six for the first four months this year 

For People’s Park Complex, there were 176 complaints in 2014, 53 last year and seven this year, up to April.

Sim Lim Square’s management council vice-chairman, Mr Kwek Theng Swee, said that business has picked up since the Jover Chew incident. The mall has also initiated measures such as kiosks for consumers to file complaints and resolve disputes quickly, Mr Kwek added.

On the upcoming provisions that impose stiff penalties on retailers, he believes that they would have a deterrent effect on bad business practices, but he said: “For many of the disputes, the best way is to still allow both parties to discuss and come up with a peaceful solution ... we shouldn’t let just one or two black sheep ruin the reputation of other retailers who are above board.”