SINGAPORE – The State Courts has ordered a retailer of alkaline water filtration systems, Triple Lifestyle Marketing, to stop making false claims and misleading consumers on its products and maintenance service packages.
The courts also ordered its sole director and shareholder Tan Jia Huang to stop knowingly abetting, aiding, permitting or procuring his company to do the same, after neither Tan nor a representative from Triple Lifestyle Marketing failed to appear in court.
According to a release from the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (CCCS) on Tuesday, the courts had determined that the retailer had engaged in unfair practices under the Consumer Protection (Fair Trading) Act.
The CCCS had applied for a court order against the retailer in November 2022.
This came after the Consumers Association of Singapore (Case) received 469 complaints against the retailer between January 2018 and October 2022, following which CCCS conducted an investigation and interviewed customers on their complaints.
Among several unfair practices, Triple Lifestyle Marketing misled customers into thinking that alkaline or filtered water can prevent diseases such as osteoporosis, cancer, diabetes, arthritis, kidney or colonic disorders and psoriasis, or improve the condition of those with such diseases.
The retailer also made several false claims, including that its products were accredited and that Thomson Medical Centre was a customer, that its water dispenser was free for a limited time, and that it would repair or replace faulty dispensers or change water filters on consumers’ request under the maintenance service packages.
As part of the judgment, Triple Lifestyle Marketing and Tan are to publish a full-page public notice with details of the court orders, in The Straits Times, Lianhe Zaobao, Berita Harian, and Tamil Murasu at their own expense by March 29.
CCCS may publish a notice in any one of these newspapers and claim the cost from them, should they fail to publish the notices.
They will have to publish details of the court orders made against them on the landing page of any platform used to market Triple Lifestyle Marketing’s goods or services at their own expense, for three years.
Tan is to also publish the details of the court order made against him on the landing page of any platform used by him or any businesses controlled or owned by him to market Triple Lifestyle Marketing goods and services, or similar.
Before any consumer signs a contract with them, the retailer must notify the consumer in writing about the court order and obtain the consumer’s written acknowledgement of receipt of the notice.
Tan and the company must also notify CCCS in writing and within 14 days, of any change relating to its business premise, Internet address, legal entity or if it undergoes restructuring or winding up. He is also required to notify CCCS in writing within 14 days after any change to his employment or control or ownership of businesses.
Additionally, Triple Lifestyle Marketing and Tan have to pay $12,000 in costs to CCCS for the court proceedings.
“The injunction orders obtained against TLM (Triple Lifestyle Marketing) send a strong signal to the marketplace that businesses that engage in persistent unfair practices to take advantage of consumers cannot be tolerated,” said Case president Melvin Yong on Facebook on Tuesday.
“While businesses are keen to promote their benefits of the products and services to their customers, claims that are made with the intention to mislead or deceive consumers are unacceptable.”
He added that Case will continue to work with CCCS and industry stakeholders to review how the Consumer Protection (Fair Trading) Act can be strengthened for swifter action to be taken against errant businesses and for affected consumers to be compensated fairly.
