CID Raided Prestige Luxury Collection, a FB Live Shop Selling Luxury Goods; Shop Has Responded

By
Shawn Ambrose
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When you hear that a certain store or house has been raided, you’d assume one of the following:

  1. It had illegal drugs
  2. It had contraband cigarettes
  3. It was an unlicensed KTV outlet

But when a luxury goods store is raided, only one possibility would come to mind:

  1. Fake goods

Given that people pay good money for luxury goods, they’re going to be pretty peeved if they learn that the overpriced t-shirt they purchased was not in fact manufactured in the skies by overworked angels.

This is why some customers of Prestige Luxury Collection are now demanding answers as to whether their purchases were indeed authentic.

CID Raided FB Live Shop Selling Luxury Goods

It all started with a post on Facebook.

Yesterday (26 Oct), Facebook page SG Kangtao Kaypoh broke the news that a Facebook live store selling luxury goods had been raided by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) in Textile Centre.

Image: Facebook (SG Kangtao Kaypoh)

Over 10 boxes were reportedly seized by officers.

Image: Facebook (SG Kangtao Kaypoh)
Image: Facebook (SG Kangtao Kaypoh)

The post claims that many buyers are “pissed off” after learning about the raid as some had spent up to $20,000 on goods from the store.

Customers then created a Telegram group to speak to other buyers and find out if the products they purchased were in fact real.

Image: Facebook (SG Kangtao Kaypoh)
Image: Facebook (SG Kangtao Kaypoh)
Image: Facebook (SG Kangtao Kaypoh)

At the time, it was believed that Prestige Luxury Collection (PLC) was the shop that was raided by the authorities.

This was confirmed the following day.

Prestige Luxury Collection’s Response

Yesterday (26 Oct), PLC issued a response on its Facebook page in a 16-minute live video.

It confirmed that the “incident” did in fact happen – CID conducted a raid and seized leather goods and apparel, among other things.

The CID conducts inquiries into a variety of criminal offences in Singapore, and its officers have the authority to make arrests.

However, if there was any wrongdoing, Prestige Luxury Collection claims that it was due to ignorance.

As for the giving out of gifts for likes and shares, the group said it wasn’t aware that it was illegal to do so without the relevant permission.

“It was an honest mistake”, one of the sellers said.

Lest you didn’t know, anyone conducting “lucky draw” must, technically, notify CID because it’s considered a form of “public lottery” in Singapore. There are also rules involved; for example, if the prizes are over $10,000, they need to submit the details of the winners with  “a copy of the newspaper cutting or screenshot of the online website showing the details of the draw and the results is to be enclosed.”

As for the authenticity of their products, the sellers said they are an authorised reseller of products from GCDC, which is not an 80s band but apparently a boutique in Taiwan. They noted that while there’s a “patent” for these products in Taiwan, they’re unsure if it’s recognised in Singapore.

“Rest assured that it is a brand,” one of the sellers said, which is unlikely to appease any buyer.

Indeed, the video didn’t do much to ease the concerns of buyers who demanded the sellers stop beating around the bush when speaking about their products’ authenticity.

Image: Facebook (Prestige Luxury Collection)

The sellers denied rumours that they were arrested during the raid, and said they’re even allowed to continue operating.

Investigations are ongoing, however.

In the meantime, do be cautious about the products you purchase online. Remember, if something is too good to be true, it probably is.

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Featured Image: Facebook (Prestige Luxury Collection Singapore & SG Kangtao Kaypoh)

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Shawn Ambrose
Email: [email protected]