Nail Palace fined S$30,000, director gets 4 months' jail for breaching court orders, 1st such case in S'pore

Singapore nail salon chain Nail Palace was fined a total of S$30,000, while its managing director, Kaiden Cheng Kai Teng, was sentenced to four months' jail on Sep. 10 after he was found guilty of contempt of court for failing to comply with court orders in relation to unfair trade practices.

According to a media release by the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (CCCS) on Sep. 10, this is the first such case in Singapore.

Nail Palace's outlets at Bukit Panjang Plaza and Eastpoint Mall in Simei had previously made a misleading representation on the need for either fungal treatment or a fungal treatment package to a consumer.

It subsequently lost an appeal against a court order requiring it to inform the public about the unfair practices on Jul. 28, 2023.

Previously ordered to publish details on unfair practices

According to CCCS, Nail Palace's Bukit Panjang Plaza and Eastpoint Mall outlets were found to have misled a customer on the need for either fungal treatment or a fungal treatment package.

The Eastpoint Mall outlet also misled a customer into taking several products, such as lipsticks and lip balms, by claiming that they were provided free of charge as part of the anti-fungal treatment package.

However, they had in reality charged the customer for the products.

The two outlets were then ordered by the District Court to publish details of the declarations and injunctions ordered against them in the four major newspapers in Singapore, namely The Straits Times, Lianhe Zaobao, Berita Harian, and Tamil Murasu.

They were also required to inform customers of such orders for a period of two years and ensure in writing that customers are aware before entering into any contract with the two outlets.

Filed appeal, breached orders thrice

On Sep. 14, 2022, Nail Palace filed appeals against the court orders, but were subsequently dismissed by the High Court.

CCCS, which had monitored the activities of Cheng and the two outlets, found three breaches of the court orders.

In the first breach, all parties had failed to publish details of the declarations and injunctions by the deadline of Aug. 18, 2023.

The second breach involved a notice published in the four major Singapore newspapers on Aug. 31, 2023 by Cheng and the outlets, which had printed words that were "extremely small" and "practically unreadable".

The notices also failed to adequately publicise the details of the declarations and injunctions issued against the Nail Palace outlets​ and were only written in English instead of the languages used by the respective newspapers.

In the third breach, Cheng and the two outlets failed to notify consumers of the declarations and injunctions made against them and did not obtain their written acknowledgments before entering into contracts with them.

CCCS took action

CCCS then initiated committal proceedings against the Nail Palace entities and Cheng in the State Courts for breaches of the court orders and sought fines and imprisonment in November 2023.

The District Court later found on Sep. 9, 2024 that there had been "continuing, deliberate, egregious and persistent conduct" by all parties involved.

This demonstrated their disregard of existing obligations and a "lack of urgency and a cavalier approach".

The court said a jail sentence for Cheng was appropriate as the consistent breaches were "irremediable and had prejudiced the public at large".

The two outlets were fined S$15,000 each and Cheng was sentenced to four months in jail.

CCCS chief executive Alvin Koh said: "Unfair trade practices curtail the ability of consumers to make informed choices and CCCS will continue to take errant businesses to task, including seeking fines and imprisonment sentences should they fail to comply with court orders issued."

Top photos via Nail Palace