23-10-2023 (SINGAPORE) Four customers of Tradenation and Tradeluxury, who had previously won default judgments in civil cases to reclaim money paid for undelivered luxury items, have been unsuccessful in their attempt to secure the release of up to $2.84 million, which was seized by the police.
A total of 187 police reports were filed against these companies between May and August 2022, alleging their failure to fulfill orders for luxury watches and bags, despite receiving full payments.
The couple operating the business, Singaporean Pi Jiapeng and his Thai wife, Pansuk Siriwipa, aged 28, fled Singapore on July 4, 2022, hiding in a container compartment of a Malaysia-registered lorry. They were apprehended by Malaysian police in Johor Bahru and handed over to the Singapore police on August 11, 2022.
Pansuk currently faces 172 charges, including cheating and fraudulent trading, while Pi is dealing with seven charges. Investigations are ongoing, and court proceedings are in progress.
In July 2022, four customers filed a High Court suit against the companies for breach of contract due to the failure to deliver Rolex watches, a Patek Philippe watch, and Hermes bags. The customers sought a return of $2.1 million that was paid between January 31 and May 17, 2022.
They later obtained a default judgment totaling $2.6 million, in addition to interests and costs. A default judgment is granted when the defendant fails to respond within a specified period.
To enforce the judgment, the four customers filed an application for the release of funds seized by the Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) under two provisions in the Criminal Procedure Code.
This included the release of funds from five properties: two bank accounts of Tradenation, a bank account of Tradeluxury, a bank account of Pansuk, and the balance sale proceeds of a Chevrolet Corvette V8 purchased by Pi, amounting to $83,472.23.
The prosecution opposed the application, arguing that the funds were seized before the judgments were obtained, and the money was traceable to other individuals, including alleged victims in the cheating charges.
The judge, District Judge Cheng Yuxi, published a judgment stating there was no basis to release the bank account funds as per the legal provisions invoked by the customers. She added that the police had possession of the property, and the applicants could not enforce the judgment debt against property in the possession of the police.
The judge noted the desire of the applicants to enforce their judgments but stated that the court’s role was to follow legislative provisions. She emphasized that the applicants did not meet the requirements for the release of seized funds in this case.
