Mustafa hit with writ of summons

Source : Business Times – 6 Nov 2009

Its owner says ‘we’d rather do more business than fight’

The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) has slapped retailer Mustafa with a writ of summons for unauthorised use of its Mustafa Warehouse building on Kallang Pudding Road. If found guilty, it could be fined up to $200,000.

The six-storey building is approved for warehouse use but for the past three weeks or so, a department store has been operating on the first level and a supermarket on level two.

‘Commercial activities such as supermarkets are not allowed within warehouse developments,’ URA’s spokeswoman said.

She added that approval to use the premises as a warehouse was given in 2001. Its owner, Mohamed Mustafa & Samsuddin Co Pte Ltd, had subsequently submitted an application in 2004 to change the building’s use to a wholesale centre for household goods and appliances.

‘The application was not approved and URA advised the owner that the proposed wholesale centre use involves sale of products and is considered commercial use, which is not allowed in a warehouse development. URA recently received feedback regarding the unauthorised commercial activities.

‘We have thus obtained a Writ of Summons from the Subordinate Courts, and served it to M/s Mohamed Mustafa & Samsuddin Co Pte Ltd for the unauthorised use of the building,’ she added.

Under the Planning Act, a person responsible for a planning offence may be fined up to $200,000 upon conviction.

Observers note that URA usually serves an enforcement notice on offending parties to discontinue unauthorised use of a property and restore it to its approved use or condition within a stipulated timeframe. URA rarely obtains a writ of summons from the court to serve on the offender. This route is usually reserved for more serious cases.

When contacted, Mustaq Ahmad, managing director of Mohamed Mustafa & Samsuddin Co, who was in Kuala Lumpur yesterday, said: ‘Maybe we have to explain to them whatever it is. Then we’ll also understand where the misunderstanding is. Definitely everybody has to follow the rules.’

When asked if he would contest the matter with the authorities through the courts, Mr Mustaq replied: ‘We’d rather do more business than fight. We’ll find out what is the problem and then we’ll come to understand and follow what needs to be done.’

The entire building, including the first two levels, operates 24 hours. A new signboard has emerged at the site stating that entrance is for members only.

Potential shoppers who visited the building yesterday were told to register as members first and made to show their identity cards and give their thumb prints for their biometric membership cards, BT understands.

On Wednesday, Mr Mustaq insisted that the set-up on the first two levels is ‘not a retail outlet although it may look like (it)’.

Instead, the building’s first two levels serve as a showroom, a small order-processing centre for Mustafa’s home-delivery business, and as a testing centre for its online business and other things Mustafa is trying out, including developing a biometric card payment system for its regular customers.

The latter, among other things, will allow the retailer to extend credit to regular customers and keep track of amounts owed without going through documentation and signatures, Mr Mustaq had told BT on Wednesday.