Assisting Claimants to Seek Recourse from Retailers who Ignore Enforcement Orders of Small Claims Tribunal

Mr Liang Eng Hwa asked the Minister for Law (a) whether the Ministry can provide assistance to claimants to seek recourse from retailers who ignore and refuse to comply with the enforcement order of the Small Claims Tribunal (SCT); and (b) whether the SCT has the means to carry out enforcement actions.

Sir, orders of the Small Claims Tribunal (SCT) are like any other Court orders and are enforced through the State Courts. The process of applying for enforcement orders has been simplified with the introduction of the revised Rules of Court in 2021. It is now only necessary to file a single application for an enforcement order in the District Court.

Claimants who wish to enforce an order of the SCT also have the following means of assistance. Individuals with limited means may apply for legal advice and legal aid from the Legal Aid Bureau (LAB). More information on the eligibility criteria can be found at the LAB E-Services Portal on the Ministry of Law’s (MinLaw's) website. Parties who are unclear about the process can also seek advice from the Community Justice Centre, which is located on-site at the State Courts.

There are also legal clinics, like those organised by the Law Society Pro Bono SG and supported by MinLaw, which provide assistance and advice in specific cases. More information on legal assistance can be found on MinLaw’s website link to “Legal Support Resources Available to Members of the Public”.

MinLaw is working with stakeholders on further changes to make the enforcement of civil judgments, including SCT orders, as was mentioned by the hon Second Minister for Law at the Committee of Supply debates earlier this year.

Sir, I thank the Minister of State for the reply, which provided a lot of information, some of which I must say I may not be aware of. I am sure many Singaporeans may not be aware that there are so many other avenues that they can look for.

I had a case in my Meet-the-People Session, which I had sent to MinLaw as well, where the claimant got an order from SCT for the retailer to pay up, but the retailer just refused to pay. She felt helpless and was told that she had to go and seek legal advice, which defeats the purpose of why we have the SCT for small claims. So, whether can there be more of this hand-holding, especially for the seniors, to be able to ultimately get their claims back, which is what the whole effort is all about.

Sir, I completely appreciate the hon Member Mr Liang's views on behalf of his resident. As mentioned in my answer, there are a number of help measures and the issue perhaps is awareness. We seek his cooperation to bring to the attention of the resident these avenues and hopefully, through this, she will get the assistance that she needs.