THE former director of Singapore-based Mandarin World Holidays (MWH) has been convicted of two charges under the Travel Agents Act, Chapter 334, for conducting the business of a travel agent without a valid licence.
According to Singapore Tourism Board (STB), two similar charges against Tan Siew Choo were taken into consideration for the purposes of sentencing. She was fined S$3,000 (US$2,364) for the two proceeded charges.
MWH’s travel agent licence was first suspended from April 3, 2010 to July 1, 2010, following complaints received that it had been carrying out the business of a travel agent in a negligent and unprofessional manner.
STB received 28 complaints against MWH between 2008 and 2010. The agency’s licence was subsequently revoked on September 20, 2010 after it was found offering travel-related services during the suspension period.
During a raid by STB on October 13, 2010, however, MWH was found to be providing travel-related services despite having its travel agent licence revoked earlier.
As this was a clear contravention under Section 6 of the Travel Agents Act, STB commenced investigations and subsequent prosecution against MWH.
Section 6 of the Travel Agents Act stipulates that any person found guilty of engaging in unlicensed travel agent activities faces a maximum fine of S$10,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or to both.
