Need to investigate alleged cheating

Dear Mr. Tan,
If someone make a foolish investment without proper checking and later complained to the Police (or Commercial Affairs Department) that he has been cheated, do you expect the CAD to take action? Surely the CAD has other priorities to take care of?

REPLY
You are right. The CAD cannot investigate every complaint. It has to prioritize.

If there are several complaints made against a specific company alleging cheating, the CAD should start a preliminary enquiry. If the company is acting honestly, it will provide clarification and information to convince CAD that their activities are legitimate, and the matter can then be closed.

If the company refuse to cooperate or be transparent about its activities, there are grounds for CAD to suspect possible wrong doing. CAD can take the next step to investigate, gather evidence to frame a charge against the company for violating the law. Even if the evidence is not sufficient to be used in court, the company may be prepared to change its practices and even compensate the victims.

Recently, there were a few cases in New York State where the Attorney General was able to get financial institutions to compensate the losses suffered by their clients due to doubtful business practices. This is settled without admission of guilt, avoids a lengthy hearing in court and is a good outcome.

If CAD cannot take gather sufficient evidence to take action, they can at least warn the general public to avoid these doubtful practices, so that other people will not fall into the same trap. If CAD and the Attorney General is more active, many of the investment scams and alleged cheating can be minimized. We will have a better business climate in Singapore.

Tan Kin Lian