Sim Lim Square (from Min Nan 森林 (lit. "forest"), Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Sim-lîm), known in Chinese as 森林商業中心 (Pinyin: Sēn Lín Shāngyè Zhōngxīn) and commonly referred to as SLS, is a large retail complex in Singapore that offers a wide variety of electronic goods and services including cameras, phones, video cameras, and computer parts and servicing. Located at 1 Rochor Canal Road, SLS is situated in central Singapore, near historic features such as the Little India district and one of the earliest HDB developments. SLS is accessible via MRT at Rochor MRT station of Downtown Line. After reports of several incidents of fraud faced by tourists, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China and Vietnamese newspapers published a warning about purchasing electronics from Sim Lim Square and the dubious tactics of the shops there.
History The complex was initially planned as a shopping and office complex, and began construction in 1983. In 1985, the complex was converted into a shopping centre dedicated to electronics and electrical goods, and many of the shop spaces in the complex were bought by shop-owners from Sim Lim Tower. The complex was completed in January 1987.
Shop types The complex is a six-story building with a range of varied electronics supply and service shops. The centre operates away from the main shopping areas of Singapore and as such can be seen as an area for bargains to be gained with cheap and inexpensive goods. Examples of this can include phones, laptops, computer parts, cameras and other electronic devices. CASE (Consumer Association of Singapore) often publishes advisory against rogue vendors in SLS.
Scams Many shops in Sim Lim Square, particularly those on lower levels selling games, cameras and mobiles, resort to scam tactics to reap higher profits. The most recent case of Jover Chew Chiew Loon involved a 33-month prison sentence. In early 2008, some SLS shops were caught by the police for selling counterfeit copies of Microsoft Windows.
Infamy and redress In April 2013, after Sim Lim Square's management put up lists of recalcitrant shops as a warning to shoppers, some of those stores resorted to shrinking or removing their names from their signboards, or even changing their name. The lists have also been ripped off by unknown culprits. It was reported a month later that retailers had secretly charged extra amounts to customers' credit cards as taxes or transaction fees. Malaysian diver Ooi Tze Liang, who was participating in the 2014 Singapore Fina Diving Grand Prix, reported paying over S$4,800 for two iPhone 6 phones, despite being quoted a price of $2,500. Ooi was unaware of the cost when he signed a contract for a warranty package amounting to over $2,300. Ooi said that the shopkeeper refused to hand over the phones unless the payment was made. Ooi paid up instead of cancelling the warranty contract, which would have cost him $800. It was reported by The New Paper that there was "little that can be done by the authorities" as the customer signed a contract. On 4 December, police raided and shuttered two mobile phone retailers, Gadget Terminal, and De.Mac Gadget/Mobile Apps, as part of investigations following reports lodged against them. The impact on the mall's reputation over customer scams was so serious that in November 2014, management of Sim Lim Square appealed to the authorities to "take a tough stand against the recalcitrant retailers".
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