Workshop Owner’s Son Took Customer’s Car for a Joyride to M’sia & Even Smoked in It

Picture this: you’re all set to head overseas, and before you leave you pass your car to a workshop for some touch-up services.

When you return, however, you realised that your precious car-oppa had been accommodating someone else for ‘joyrides’, and had even been smoked in.

Sounds preposterous? Well, that’s exactly what happened to this particular car owner, whose car was used without his consent to clock a whopping 272km.

(FYI, Jurong to Tampines is only 30km)

What happened?

Just yesterday (23 Dec), Facebook user Eric Lau shared a post to Facebook page SG Road Vigilante, in which he condemned the behaviour of a car workshop owner, Mr Andy Goh, and his business partner’s son, Shawn, who had tampered with it without Lau’s knowledge.

Having passed the car over on 3 Nov, he returned on 8 Nov to discover that:

• His odometer clocked 272km during his leave
• There was apparently a lot of cigarette ash on 7 Nov, one day before the car was returned
• The memory car in his car camera had been taken out, and not been slotted into its original position
• His car sound system had been adjusted to maximum level

After the revelation, Lau swiftly made a police report and arranged for a meeting between all 3 ‘affiliated’ parties. It was then that the truth came out: while Lau was away, Shawn had smoked in his car, blasted his sound system and driven it into several parts of Malaysia.

Thereafter, they tried to arrange for a form of compensation, but Lau expressed that both Andy and his business partner, Shawn, tried to circumvent it via rather ‘questionable methods’. As a result, Lau took it to Facebook, where he publicly denounced the pair and warned others not to patronise their car services.

You can read the full post here:

Transcript (in case you can’t read the digital script. By the way just a piece of advice: it’s a wall of text):

“PLEASE BE AWARE! AND SHARE THIS INFORMATION!
I had handled my car to Glozz Factory Mobile Car Grooming Services for spray paint and internal grooming job on 03rd November 2018 (Saturday). Before I handed over my car to the company, I took a picture of my Odometer. I collected my car at my work place on 8th November 2018 after I came back from Overseas. I had a shock as my odometer clocked 272km! There is no way my car can be driven for 272km to travel between workshops!!

I called Glozz Factory boss, Mr. Andy Goh, and confronted him. He checked and admitted that my car was driven into Malaysia by his business partner’s son (Shawn). The partner had a company named Chng Brothers Motor Services. His business partner is Mr. William Chng. Andy told me that there was a lot of cigarette ash in my car when he did the internal grooming on 07th November 2018, one day before handing back the car back to me. I also realized that the memory card on my car camera was being pulled out and forgotten to slot it back to original position. My car sound system bass was adjusted to maximum level. I made a police report and an arrangement for met up with all 3 of them. It was admitted that Shawn and smoked in my car, blasted my sound system and drove into several parts of Malaysia.

William said that his son still young, will make mistake. Oh please 20 plus years old and telling me he is still very young will make mistake?! I demanded that a compensation have to be made for breach of contract and my car was being misused. Andy just told me that he will not be involved as he wanted to protect his company’s reputation, and asked me to settle with William individually. The car was handled to Glozz Factory and Andy wanted to pushed the responsibility away, which shows that he has no INTEGRITY and RESPONSIBILITY at all.

Ok, so William agreed to pay me a certain sum as compensation and informed his lawyer to prepare the private settlement letter. He told me that the Lawyer need my IC, so I scanned a copy to the lawyer firm. I called him several times, and asked when the letter will be ready. He just said lawyer preparing wait lor. Now he mentioned that the Lawyer need my Police Report to prepare the letter. The lawyer is currently trying to “buy” my police report, as I am not willing to send my police report to his Lawyer. I called the Police and they told me that there is NO WAY to buy a person police report due to confidentiality. ANDY is still refusing to issue me receipt for my Cheque paid nearly 2 MONTHS AGO!! These 2 persons basically have NO BUSINESS ETHICS at all.

BEWARE OF THESE 2 COMPANIES IF YOU ARE A CAR LOVER. DO NOT SEND IN YOUR CAR FOR GROOMING OR SPRAY PAINTING. YOUR CAR MAY BE USED WITHOUT YOU KNOWING IT!!!”

And here are the photos that accompanied the post (we mosaic-ed some info):

As well as the entire WhatsApp conversation, all captured in the classic screenshot format:

Netizens React

Following the revelation, the general sentiment Netizens felt was that of disapproval.

Some, for example, condemned the owners’ business ethics.

While some campaigned for the good ol’ Call to Action.

One, however, pointed out that the attitude might have been implied in the workshop’s name all along.

And folks

That leads us to the Goody Moral of the Story (GMS) segment, which nobody really bothers to read but I just incorporate anyway.

And on this time of GMS, I conclude:

Watch who you’re handing your cars over to.

And avoid CBs and GFs, just to be safe.

Advice from a Colleague Who’s a Driver

With the internet, it’s very easy to find out if a car workshop is reliable or not. Just Google and read the reviews on sgcarmart.com, one of the biggest online car platforms in Singapore.

Do not check out Facebook reviews, as they could have been written by their own staff.

#justsaying