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HE HAD bought the air tickets for his Filipino friends to visit Singapore.

It was Venerable Shi Fa Rong's way of thanking the two female friends for helping him with the charity work he did in the Philippines last month.

But when the trio tried to check in at the Cebu Pacific Air counter at the Clark International Airport (located north of Manila) on 20 Jul, they were told that only Venerable Shi's name was on the flight list.

The women's names were not included. So Venerable Shi flew back to Singapore alone.

'It would have been their first visit to Singapore,' said Venerable Shi.

He had paid $520 for the two round trips, but it turned out that the agency had not booked the tickets, even though e-tickets were issued.

He bought his friends' tickets on 6 May, before he left for the Philippines last month. His own two-way ticket was bought seven days later from the same agency.

Venerable Shi went to Empire Travel Services, where he had bought the tickets, the day after he returned to Singapore.

He was shocked to find the shutters down. The travel agency's signboard had also been taken off.

'I went there thrice, on three different days, and spoke to the tenants there. They told me (the people running the agency) 'run away already',' he said.

When The New Paper was there on 5 Aug, tenants and workers nearby said more than 10 people had also been there. The landlord told us the owners of Empire still owed him rent.

A check with the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority showed that Empire was still a 'live' company, and that it had two shareholders.

One, a 33-year-old woman, had a Filipino name and a Singapore IC number and address. We contacted the other shareholder, a 35-year-old Singaporean who wanted to be known only as Mr Chan. He said he and the Filipina, a Singapore PR, had set up the agency in April last year.

The Filipino woman and her husband, who have two young children, also told him they had run a travel agency in the Philippines before.

But they agreed the woman would run the business, while Mr Chan would be the silent partner with a 35 per cent stake.

He claimed he did not know anything about the couple's sudden disappearance.

He said he found out the agency had closed only when an employee from the landlord's office called him on 13 Jul. When the two men entered the premises the next day, they found the place cleared out except for a few tables and chairs.

When Mr Chan went to the couple's rented home, he found their landlord, who said the couple owed him about three months' rent. He also showed Mr Chan an e-mail from the woman saying she had returned to the Philippines with her family.

On 16 Jul, Mr Chan said he, too, received an e-mail from her, which he forwarded to us. In the e-mail, she apologised for leaving so suddenly and claimed that she and her husband were deep in debt.

Since then, Mr Chan has been unable to contact her.

The New Paper did not get a reply when we sent an e-mail to the woman.

Both Mr Chan and Venerable Shi have lodged police reports. The latter has also filed a report with the Small Claims Tribunal.

Mr Chan said more than 10 disgruntled customers have called him - he left his handphone number with a worker at a shop next to Empire - but he has told them to go to the Consumers Association of Singapore (Case) instead.

A Case spokesman told The New Paper that it has received two other cases of feedback regarding Empire last month.

Local partner not liable unless...

THE Small Claims Tribunal (SCT) had arranged for Venerable Shi and Empire Travel Services to appear before the court on 4 Aug.

But Venerable Shi claimed no representative from the agency turned up.

Mr Chan insists he was not involved in the day-to-day running of the business.

'I understand many people had been let down. I suggest they make a report with Case,' he said.

Lawyer Tan Hee Joek told The New Paper: 'It is unlikely that any recourse may be taken against the local shareholder in this case, if he was acting like a sleeping partner.'

But if he is found to have played a part in duping customers, civil, and even criminal action, may be taken against him, Mr Tan added.

Affected customers can take up a civil suit or go to the SCT.

But, Mr Tan noted, it may not be worth the trouble and may incur more costs, since the culprits appear to have already run away.

'You can get a judgment, but such a paper judgment is good only if the company has assets,' he said.

A Case spokesman said that after the consumer gets an order from SCT, the business would have to pay whatever amount awarded to him by the SCT.

'If the amount is not settled, then the consumer can enforce the order by taking out a writ of seizure or other forms of legal action,' she said.

To get a writ of seizure, the person must go through the SCT, Subordinate or High Court to define the specified sum owed to him.

This article was first published in The New Paper.

I bought plane tickets for friends but...

By Pearly Tan and Vivien Chan, The new paper | Wed, Aug 19 2009

They are among other customers left stranded after Filipino partner of travel agency leaves Singapore.

I bought plane tickets for friends but...

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