Singapore's laws offer little protection to consumers. The Consumers Association of Singapore (Case) has been around for 48 years, yet it is still not taken seriously.

Every time my boss receives a letter from Case, he asks me to toss it into the shredder.

The time has come for banks and the Government to empower Case.

For instance, more can be done in the case of this car importer (Case blackmarks car importer for second time; July 4).

Banks or finance companies can be barred from having any dealings with companies that are on Case's blacklist.

Car loans are crucial for any parallel importer to survive. Once banks are not prepared to provide loans to their customers, it will be the end of that business.

Parallel importers usually have dodgy financial records.

Any company that has been blacklisted by Case should be put through an audit by the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (Iras) before it can operate again.

I am sure Iras' financial forensic team will be thorough and find the truth about the company.

Quite often, the consumer gets blamed when he is cheated and would be labelled stupid or gullible.

Regardless, the consumers are the victims and need to be protected against unscrupulous businesses.

Chua Boon Hou