Nail Palace boss jailed for contempt of court after watchdog seeks action

Two companies under group fined $15,000 each for contempt

- Selina Lum

The managing director of the Nail Palace group was sentenced to four months' jail on Sept 9 for contempt of court, the first jail sentence meted out in a move to protect consumers against unfair practices.

Two companies under the group, one running the Bukit Panjang Plaza outlet and the other the Eastpoint Mall outlet, were also each fined $15,000 for contempt of court.

The outlets were found in 2022 to have misled customers, and ordered to stop recommending unnecessary nail anti-fungal treatment to customers.

The outlets were also ordered to take certain steps to notify consumers about the court orders made against them.

But managing director Kaiden Cheng and the outlets failed to comply with the court orders regarding the steps they were supposed to take to notify consumers.

This is the first time that the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (CCCS) has instituted contempt proceedings against an errant business and its manager for breaching court orders, the regulator said on Sept 10.

The CCCS said that it is also the first time that it has obtained a substantial fine and imprisonment sentence against parties that infringed the Consumer Protection (Fair Trading) Act (CPFTA).