SINGAPORE: A water filtration company has been ordered by a court to stop making false claims, including that alkaline water prevents diseases such as cancer, diabetes and chronic lower back pain.
Between January 2018 and October 2022, the Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE) received 469 complaints against Triple Lifestyle Marketing, which supplies water dispensers, alkaline water filtration systems and maintenance service packages.
In most cases, these packages cost about S$3,000 (US$2,258) each and included the filtration system, dispenser, periodic water filter change, and repair services within a warranty period.
On Nov 30 last year, the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (CCCS) filed court proceedings against the company and its sole director Tan Jia Huang. It comes after it issued a second warning against the company.
The authority asked the State Courts to make findings that the company engaged in various unfair practices, such as making false claims and misleading customers.
It also applied to the court for an injunction to stop Tan from knowingly abetting, aiding, permitting or procuring Triple Lifestyle Marketing to engage in unfair practices.
Both orders were granted by the court. The company and Tan failed to appear for court proceedings, the CCCS said on Tuesday (Mar 28).
The company and its director have been ordered to publish a full-page public notice with details of the court orders in the Straits Times, Lianhe Zaobao, Berita Harian and Tamil Murasu by Wednesday.
If they fail to do so, the CCCS may publish a notice in any one of the newspapers and claim the cost from the company or Tan.
They also have to publish – for three years – details of the court orders on the landing page of any marketing platform, such as its social media pages.
Tan also has to publish the details of the court order against him on the landing page of any platform used by him or any businesses to market Triple Lifestyle Marketing’s goods and services.
For the next three years, the company must notify any customer in writing about the court order and obtain their written acknowledgement, before a contract is signed.
The company and its director have also been ordered to pay the costs of the proceedings of S$12,000.