Unwillingness to take responsibility

There is a company that advertises regularly on television that sells land banking and other products.

For the past two years, they have been offering their products to investors with an option for the purchaser to cash out  at the end of 6 months with interest at 12.5%. On maturity, they find many excuses to delay the payment and kept some  investors waiting for more than a year.

Several investors had lodged a complaint with the Monetary Authority of Singapore and the Commercial Affairs Department, but were told to engage their own lawyer on this matter.

This company continued its mode of operation and more unwary investors are being caught in this type of investment. I was told that several millions of dollars are being collected each month. The company was even able to produce a certificate of "Singapore Quality" issued by Spring Singapore.

Some investors asked me, "Mr. Tan, why is the Government not willing to act on this matter, when many ordinary people have complained about being cheated? Does this company have strong connections with certain people in the Government?". I replied that this is not likely to be the reason.

The likely reason is that one agency will point finger that it is the responsibility of another agency, and nobody wishes to take responsibility to act. This is quite typical of Singapore and is a shameful state of affairs.

Tan Kin Lian