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September 13, 2026

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Police probe interior design firm Axion Design after complaints over stalled renovations, missing furniture

Some affected customers are owed tens of thousands of dollars, while others say they had to live in homes with unfinished renovation works.

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SINGAPORE: Police and government agencies are investigating interior design firm Axion Design over complaints of unfinished renovation work and delivered furniture, as well as unpaid salaries and Central Provident Fund (CPF) contributions.

Some affected customers are owed tens of thousands of dollars, while others said they had to live in homes with unfinished renovation works after messages to the firm went unanswered earlier this year.

Police confirmed that reports were lodged and that investigations are ongoing.

The Ministry of Manpower, CPF Board and Tripartite Alliance for Dispute Management said former employees have also lodged complaints over non-payment of salaries and that the firm had defaulted on CPF contributions.

Five employees have since agreed on payment schedules with the company.

The CPF Board has initiated prosecution against the firm and the ministry is also investigating the company for possible breaches of the Employment Act.

Mr John Tan, who had introduced himself to clients as the company’s co-founder, told CNA that the company had gone bankrupt and that he lacked the funds and manpower to complete outstanding works or refund customers.

He also claimed he owes his staff about S$10,000 (US$7,800) in salary, and said he and co-founder Alvin Ong are working with MOM to pay back salaries in instalments, which will remain a priority over paying back customers.

One customer representing the group of affected home owners said about 20 households have been affected, a figure corroborated by Mr Tan.

Checks showed 17 cases went before the Small Claims Tribunals this year in which Axion Design was named as the respondent, with 14 resulting in orders by the tribunal for the firm to make monetary payment.

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UNCOMPLETED WORKS, MISSING FURNITURE

Mr Lim Seng Kin, a 54-year-old business development manager, paid the firm about S$29,000 since May 2025, but design drawings were repeatedly delayed and further issues emerged once renovation began a month later.

These included kitchen cabinets that did not match the agreed designs, misaligned furniture, badly installed electrical sockets and carpentry “several inches short” due to incorrect measurements.

He repeatedly asked for rectification works in September last year, but the firm did not respond promptly, he said in his statement to the tribunal.

Screenshots of messages from Mr Lim Seng Kin to the firm, with photos of a living room set-up different from the original design drawings. (Images: Lim Seng Kin)

He said the firm stopped responding altogether in November, despite further attempts to contact them until January this year.

He made a police report and filed a Small Claims Tribunals claim seeking S$12,285 for missing and incomplete services, among other claims. Mr Lim said the tribunal awarded him the full amount in June, but he has yet to recover the money.

“Next action I need is to engage a lawyer to enforce the court order which will cost me,” said Mr Lim. “I consider my money already lost, but if possible, let’s stop them from doing it again and again.”

Renovation delivery issues have cropped up before. The Ministry of Home Affairs said in 2022 it would study amending the law to make it easier to establish fraud by errant contractors, but announced in 2024 that no amendments were needed since renovation fraud can be prosecuted as cheating.

One home owner, who asked to remain anonymous, said he paid Axion Design S$76,000.

The project began in October last year and was due for completion in December, but was continually delayed until the firm stopped replying in June this year. The work was also below standard, he said, the electricity often tripped, his family had to sleep on mattresses without bed frames and carpentry around the house was poorly done.

He estimated he lost about S$30,000 in unfinished work, and spent S$20,000 more redoing it with another firm in early August.

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Others told CNA they had bought Axion Design’s furniture, only for it to go undelivered.

MRT station manager Muhammad Amsyar Sahri, 29, paid Axion Design S$10,000 in deposits for furniture, wardrobes and interior design services between October and November last year. He said he was told the deposits were refundable if he decided not to proceed, but after engaging another contractor, he could not recover his S$2,000 interior design deposit.

Months later, he learnt his Axion salesman had left the firm and his furniture remained undelivered. In May, he and his wife arranged to visit Axion’s showroom but found nobody there despite giving advance notice, and the firm’s other co-founder, Mr Ong, later stopped responding after initially promising to discuss a refund.

“We kept calling and texting, but he just left voice notes saying that they cannot do anything, the company was closing down, and there was no point chasing him,” he said.

The couple made a police report in June.

Another customer, who only wanted to be known as Nelson, said he first got in touch with Axion Design at a furniture fair at Singapore Expo in December, where the firm “had the biggest booths which made them seem legitimate”.

The 47-year-old paid S$8,000, but the furniture was never delivered. His attempts to contact Mr Ong from end-May onwards were unsuccessful, and he made a police report as well.

Other customers made deposits to secure renovation contracts, only for the firm to cease communication before the works even began.

One customer, known only as Joanna, paid S$8,000 in deposits in August last year before the firm “went MIA (missing in action)” in May, just before renovation was due to begin. The 57-year-old filed a tribunal claim and made a police report.

Another customer said she and her husband paid a S$3,000 deposit for renovation services in January this year, before deciding not to proceed due to a “lack of confidence” in the firm’s professionalism.

Asking for the deposit back proved futile, with the firm delaying payment before ceasing communications altogether. She reported the firm to the police and complained to the Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE), which CNA has also contacted for comment.

Screenshots of messages from a customer asking Axion Design for a S$3,000 refund. She said the refund was never made.

What customers can do

Mr Mervin Foo, co-founder of renovation-matching platform HomeMatch, said the renovation industry has a “relatively low barrier to entry”.

“You don’t need a qualification to be an interior designer, and inexperienced players can also start a renovation firm,” he said.

Warning signs include firms repeatedly asking for additional payments despite little progress, subcontractors stopping work, materials not being delivered, or timelines being pushed back without explanation — which could point to cash flow problems, Mr Foo said.

Home owners should agree on clear payment schedules before signing a contract, he added. “As a general rule of thumb, home owners should avoid paying more than 20 per cent as an initial deposit to secure the contract, and retain a final 5 to 10 per cent until the renovation has been satisfactorily completed and handed over.”

Payments should be tied to progress, and home owners should avoid the “sunk cost” trap. “If there are serious warning signs, don’t let what you’ve already paid determine whether you should put in more money,” he said.

Proving a criminal offence can be difficult, however. Mr Alex Woon, a lecturer at the Singapore University of Social Sciences’ School of Law and a consultant at LVM Law Chambers, said a potentially relevant offence is cheating, which requires proof beyond reasonable doubt of dishonest intent at the time the customer was induced to transact.

“If the accused genuinely believed that they could carry out the renovation job, but for cash flow or other business reasons was eventually unable to complete the job, that is not cheating,” he said.

Home owners who suspect wrongdoing should preserve contracts, invoices and correspondence, and seek legal advice. Civil claims, including through the Small Claims Tribunals, are an option, but recovery is not guaranteed even with a court order.

“In many cases, the defendant has spent the money on other projects or simply frittered it away,” Mr Woon said.

He suggested the industry study safeguards – such as holding client funds separately, as law firms do – to reduce risk to consumers.

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“NOT A SCAM,” SAYS FOUNDER

Speaking to CNA over the phone, Axion Design’s Mr Tan said he had effectively shut down the company since April this year “due to cash flow issues”.

“This is not a scam … because if it is a scam, I think I won’t be here talking to you,” he said. “Our bank statement is very transparent. The police have the right to check my statements, where the money goes, so all my money goes to the CPF, salaries, suppliers and vendors.

“It is because of the cash flow, that we cannot sustain the business,” he added.

Asked what happened to the money owed to his clients, Mr Tan said he has about 20 affected customers he has no way to pay back.

“We are under bankruptcy, so I really have no money to pay them,” he said, adding that he has spent all his savings on the company and owes his landlord money.

Checks on Axion Design’s Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) profile show the firm was incorporated in March 2025, and neither Mr Tan nor fellow co-founder Mr Ong is listed as a director or company secretary. An Ang Yock Ee is listed as director and Seah Hong Wee as company secretary.

CNA visited Mr Ang’s listed address twice but there was no response at the door.

Checks with the Ministry of Law’s Insolvency Office showed Mr Tan and Mr Ong are undischarged bankrupts. Mr Tan was made bankrupt on Oct 9, 2025 after an application by DBS Bank, with his insolvency record citing “business failure”; Mr Ong was made bankrupt on Nov 25, 2021 after an application by Kawah Furnishing, with the cause recorded as “others”. Both remain undischarged as at June 2026.

A bankrupt cannot manage a business or act as a director without permission from the court or the official overseeing their bankruptcy.

ACRA still lists the company as “live”. Mr Tan claimed this was because the firm still owes CPF payments amounting to S$51,000, and did not mention prosecution actions already initiated by the CPF Board.

Asked if he had anything to say to his unhappy customers, Mr Tan said: “I’m very sorry to them, to be very honest, very sorry that we owe them … But I don’t think they will accept lah.”

Source: CNA/jx(cy)

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