Nowadays in Singapore there are alot of ex-gangster interior designers that open up a company and offers renovation for HDB owners, but they always end up screwing up the job. I was a victim, my house was renovated halfway and the man went MIA with my deposit
All that is left behind are some materials and a cigarette butt.
I recently decided to renovate my HDB apartment. With a tight budget, I looked for a company to do the job. I came across a company called ‘Jing Ge Renovation’ and their propsal looked promising. It said that they would do the job within my budget and even quoted a reasonable price for the materials.
Little did I know that the owner of the company was a chao ah beng. I found out about it when I met him for the first time. He had a rough and intimidating look, and I could tell he had a shady past. But he was quite friendly and assured me he would do a good job. I had no choice but to believe him and hired him.
He and his team of workers came to my place and started the renovation. Everything went smoothly at first, but then things started to go wrong. The workers started cutting corners, using cheap materials, and taking shortcuts. I noticed that the quality of the work was subpar, but I was already deep into the project.
When I asked the beng about it, he assured me that it was all part of the process and that the quality of the work would improve. But it never did. I started to suspect that the owner was trying to scam me.
Soon enough, the workers stopped showing up and the owner went missing. I was left with the half-renovated apartment and a lot of materials that were not even used. To make matters worse, I found out that the owner had taken my deposit.
I was devastated.
At that point, I knew that this was not just a case of shoddy workmanship. It was a scam. I reported the case to the police and they say civil matter. It turns out that this was not the first time the owner had done this. He had scammed many other HDB owners before me and had been getting away with it.
But I still had no hope of getting my deposit back. I was left with a half-renovated apartment and a lot of materials that were not even used. To make matters worse, I found a cigarette butt on the floor. It was a reminder of the shady past of the chao ah beng owner of the company.
I was able to finish the renovation with the help of my family and friends, but I still feel cheated by the ah beng. I had no idea that ex-gangsters could be interior designers and that they could use their skills to scam innocent people. I learned my lesson and will be more careful in the future.
No matter how good something looks on the surface, it is always important to do your research and make sure you are dealing with someone who is trustworthy. It is not worth the risk of being scammed.