Sterra warned by consumer watchdog, apologises for false claims about Singapore tap water quality

Filtration company Sterra has apologised for making false and misleading claims on the quality of Singapore's tap water, as well as other claims relating to its air and water purifiers.

The Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (CCCS) said in a media release on Friday (Aug 30) that they launched an investigation after receiving several complaints about an online advertisement by Sterra in February.

One of the complainants was PUB, Singapore's national water agency.

The advertisement showed water teeming with microorganisms like bacteria and algae, and falsely claimed that Singapore's tap water is unsafe for direct consumption without being filtered by Sterra's water purifiers.

The consumer watchdog said that their investigations also found that Sterra had made other false and misleading representations on their website between February 2023 and March 2024.

The company claimed that three models of their air purifiers were made in Singapore, when they were in fact manufactured in China.

And two models of Sterra's water purifiers were labelled and marketed as "Korean", when they were in fact also made in China.

False discounts

CCCS said that Sterra also offered false discounts to consumers.

The pre-discount prices that Sterra claimed for comparison with its discounted price were not genuine previous prices and were never offered to any customer, said CCCS. 

Following the investigation, they added that Sterra has given an "unequivocal apology".

CCCS added that Sterra, and their directors, have also provided an undertaking to stop its unfair trade practices.

Sterra would also have to put up a public apology on its website and social media channels for 30 days.

They must also co-operate with the Advertising Standards Authority of Singapore and public agencies, including PUB, to resolve all complaints by consumers and publish clarifications about misleading advertisements.

"CCCS has accepted the undertakings and issued warnings to Sterra and its directors," said the consumer watchdog.

In posts on Facebook and Instagram, as well as on their website, Sterra apologised for their misleading advertisement about the quality of Singapore's tap water.

"We thank the CCCS and national water agency PUB for alerting us of their concerns and the opportunity to make things right," they added.

ALSO READ: Sterra under probe for another misleading ad on tap water quality

chingshijie@asiaone.com

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