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SINGAPORE NEWS
China website selling SAF shirts, but are they legit?
MILITARY ‘FASHION’: A Taobao.com page showed what seems to be Singapore Armed Forces attire – T-shirts and singlets bearing what looks like its logo – being sold.
By Sophie Hong
my paper
Wednesday, May 09, 2012
SINGAPORE - It is a shopping site that has it all - electronics, pet food, baby products and even attire for Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) servicemen.
A check on Taobao.com, China's largest online marketplace, revealed more than 10 vendors hawking either cotton T-shirts or singlets bearing what looks like an SAF logo. Their prices range from 18 yuan ($3.60) to 22 yuan each.
One vendor was also selling them in a bundle - 29 yuan for a T-shirt and a singlet. Touted as being "military-uniform style", the apparel even received favourable reviews from buyers, with one commenting that the material is "very comfortable".
It is not known whether the clothes are fake copies or actual SAF attire. Similar T-shirts and singlets are issued to recruits during their basic military training.
In a 2010 response to my paper, the Ministry of Defence said: "It is illegal for servicemen to sell their personal equipment that is issued to them by the SAF."
But lawyers said that third parties selling such items may not be breaking the law. In this case, it is unclear whether the clothes are the real deal, pointed out Mr Foo Cheow Ming, a partner at law firm KhattarWong.
"I can be contracted to manufacture these items but, if the military does not take them or rejects them, then these items will not be military property," he explained.
However, Mr Lee Terk Yang, director of legal firm Characterist, said that if the clothes carry the SAF logo, manufacturers can still be charged under the Decorations and Uniforms Act.
"But it is tough to take action against an entity that is not in Singapore," he added.
my paper understands that such items available on the market could be surplus stock or rejects.
They could also have been put up for sale by servicemen.
In 2010, my paper reported that army-issued helmets, among other SAF items, were being hawked online by their owners.
That same year, a 55-year-old woman was charged under the Arms and Explosives Act for selling a firing pin of an M16 assault rifle and possessing another.
In a 2008 response to a forum letter in Chinese newspaper Lianhe Zaobao, the Ministry of Defence said: "NSmen who have reached their statutory age (50 years for officers and 40 years for warrant officers and below) can return their personal equipment at the Army Logistics Base, National Servicemen Service Centre or SAF eMarts.
"NSmen can also choose to dispose of the items themselves, bearing in mind that the disposed items should not end up in unauthorised use."
[email protected]
China website selling SAF shirts, but are they legit?
MILITARY ‘FASHION’: A Taobao.com page showed what seems to be Singapore Armed Forces attire – T-shirts and singlets bearing what looks like its logo – being sold.
By Sophie Hong
my paper
Wednesday, May 09, 2012
SINGAPORE - It is a shopping site that has it all - electronics, pet food, baby products and even attire for Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) servicemen.
A check on Taobao.com, China's largest online marketplace, revealed more than 10 vendors hawking either cotton T-shirts or singlets bearing what looks like an SAF logo. Their prices range from 18 yuan ($3.60) to 22 yuan each.
One vendor was also selling them in a bundle - 29 yuan for a T-shirt and a singlet. Touted as being "military-uniform style", the apparel even received favourable reviews from buyers, with one commenting that the material is "very comfortable".
It is not known whether the clothes are fake copies or actual SAF attire. Similar T-shirts and singlets are issued to recruits during their basic military training.
In a 2010 response to my paper, the Ministry of Defence said: "It is illegal for servicemen to sell their personal equipment that is issued to them by the SAF."
But lawyers said that third parties selling such items may not be breaking the law. In this case, it is unclear whether the clothes are the real deal, pointed out Mr Foo Cheow Ming, a partner at law firm KhattarWong.
"I can be contracted to manufacture these items but, if the military does not take them or rejects them, then these items will not be military property," he explained.
However, Mr Lee Terk Yang, director of legal firm Characterist, said that if the clothes carry the SAF logo, manufacturers can still be charged under the Decorations and Uniforms Act.
"But it is tough to take action against an entity that is not in Singapore," he added.
my paper understands that such items available on the market could be surplus stock or rejects.
They could also have been put up for sale by servicemen.
In 2010, my paper reported that army-issued helmets, among other SAF items, were being hawked online by their owners.
That same year, a 55-year-old woman was charged under the Arms and Explosives Act for selling a firing pin of an M16 assault rifle and possessing another.
In a 2008 response to a forum letter in Chinese newspaper Lianhe Zaobao, the Ministry of Defence said: "NSmen who have reached their statutory age (50 years for officers and 40 years for warrant officers and below) can return their personal equipment at the Army Logistics Base, National Servicemen Service Centre or SAF eMarts.
"NSmen can also choose to dispose of the items themselves, bearing in mind that the disposed items should not end up in unauthorised use."
[email protected]
