I read with consternation and astonishment that a coffee shop in Tampines was sold at a price that is on a par with retail units in Orchard Road malls (Tampines coffee shop sold for record $41.68m; tenants say rent doubled, June 16).

Another in Yishun also changed hands at around the same price (Coffee shop in Yishun sold for $40m in second such sale this year, June 19).

Free-market pricing has gone too far now, and will certainly affect the affordability of food in the HDB heartland.

Imagine going to a coffee shop - without the ambience of a mall setting and air-conditioning - and having to pay $10 for a simple plate of char kway teow or chicken rice.

Would exorbitant prices drive customers away? Would it affect the livelihoods of the workers?

Something should be done before this phenomenon spreads to other heartland coffee shops.

Perhaps the authorities could set a range of prices for food sold in heartland food centres and coffee shops to ensure it remains affordable to the average person.

Keith Wong