SINGAPORE - The Consumers Association of Singapore (Case) has appointed a new executive director.
In a statement on Monday (April 19), the consumer watchdog announced that Ms Lee Siow Hwee replaced incumbent Loy York Jiun at the beginning of the month.
Mr Loy, 47, has returned to the National Trades Union Congress, from which he was seconded as deputy executive director of Case on April 1, 2016. He was appointed as executive director in 2017.
Ms Lee, 42, has served in the People's Association for 18 years in roles, including as deputy general manager of Central Singapore Community Development Council as well as constituency director of Moulmein-Cairnhill and Jurong Central constituency offices.
During the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic last year, she led several national assistance schemes to support affected households and local businesses in central Singapore.
These included the CDC Student Meals Scheme, which helped families living in flats under the Public Rental Scheme with children studying in primary and secondary schools defray the cost of buying meals while on home-based learning.
Case president Lim Biow Chuan said: "With Siow Hwee's extensive experience in working with stakeholders and connecting with residents on the ground, I am confident that she will build on York Jiun's good work to educate and empower consumers in these challenging times."
He also thanked Mr Loy for his contributions to the consumer movement.
Under Mr Loy's leadership, Case ramped up efforts to educate consumers on their rights, especially in the area of e-commerce purchases, and took firm action against errant e-commerce retailers.
In 2019, Case flagged retailer Fashion Interactive for misleading its consumers with fine print and for automatically enrolling them as members on its footwear website.
Mr Loy has been credited with working closely with Enterprise Singapore and the Singapore Standards Council to launch the Republic's first e-commerce standard, Technical Reference 76, which allows consumers to access transparent product and pricing information.
He also enhanced Case's efforts to help consumers make informed purchasing decisions by operationalising price comparison platforms Price Kaki and Fuel Kaki.
Mr Lim added: "On behalf of the Case central committee, management and staff, I would like to thank York Jiun for his contributions in the last five years.
"He pushed hard for consumers to be protected and oversaw Case's strategic shift in its approach of educating consumers amid an evolving consumer landscape."
