SINGAPORE'S largest broadcaster, MediaCorp, has closed its group-buying website barely a year after starting it.
Dubbed Mocca Perks, the Groupon competitor offered up to 88 per cent discounts on goods such as beauty treatments, digital cameras and furniture.
A message now appears on the website, reading: 'Our site is closed to make way for a new e-commerce initiative. Look out for our e-newsletter coming your way soon.'
All unredeemed vouchers must be claimed by Sept 2.
The closure comes a month after the broadcaster took down the home page of its online classified website, Mocca.com.
Mr Philip Koh, the managing director of MediaCorp's convergent media division, declined to answer questions when contacted about why it shut the website.
Instead, he said the closure was part of efforts to bring in new online products to serve the changing needs of customers, and that MediaCorp 'regrets' that the site is 'taking a break' to make way for a new e-commerce initiative.
Marketing experts said Mocca Perks had failed to differentiate itself.
FOUR teenage boys have been arrested after allegedly using victims' phones to buy themselves video-game credits in an islandwide scam.
The youths, aged between 15 and 18, are believed to have targeted mostly taxi drivers in 10 cases across Singapore.
First, the suspects borrowed the cabbies' mobile phones after claiming that theirs were not working or had run out of power.
Then they allegedly used the mobile phones to buy game credits before returning them to the unsuspecting victims.
Scams like these work because no identification is needed to buy the credits as the purchase is tied to the phone line. The victims usually have no idea they have been tricked until their phone bills arrive in the post.
The arrests came after six youths were held last Tuesday over 10 separate phone scams involving game credits.
These featured the same alleged modus operandi, although most of the victims were other youngsters.
Police said that the two sets of cases were believed to be unrelated. Investigations into the cases involving the latest four suspects are ongoing and they have been classified as cheating.
If convicted, they could be jailed for up to 10 years and fined.
Last month, a 13-year-old girl was arrested on suspicion of criminal breach of trust after chalking up a $600 bill buying game credits on a borrowed phone.
Police advise members of the public not to hand over their mobile phones to strangers. If they genuinely need help, the phone owner should make the emergency calls on their behalf.
i going for happy ever laughter u noe
woots i going jiuzhaigou u noe
my 3 fav boys from U-KISS!
the other 4 boys.
neber bot anything thru mocca perks
their deals suxx
close down oso good lah
actually got a few others oso cannot tong liao
either merge or close down
erm, your taste...
not k-ok fan; i usually look for food, cosmestics, toiletries, clothes coupons
Originally posted by FireIce:
my 3 fav boys from U-KISS!
same here...
Originally posted by FireIce:
the other 4 boys.
the two on the left look weird to me...
and kevin too. That freak of a shirt that he is wearing makes he look like a pervert~
all look gay-ish to me
i like kiseop in the image...
but fug, it looks like he is wearing a bra~.
WTF~
eeeeeeks ah kong
heavy rain
but time to go look for food
going out for sushi/sashimi and nipponese food for lunch~
back from wan yang
my å°�pink (finger) numb
after exam i will have blardy intensive body massage i promise
live happily ever after
1 watch arrived woots
still got 1 more hohoho
die liao my exam
i bgt chicken rice de rice
and siew yolk
later eat
so that no need go market
or call macdee
no clue what i'll be having for din...still stuck in the office
just had jipon bufet~
*burp*
so bloated down... maybe should make corn tea for indigestion~
the �鸡 is being described as �� leh
same as fifi kekeke
even now i cannot believe i actually had a dicussion with ommoni about kpop over lunch earlier...
and she say she wan buy JYPEnt shares.
for fug?!
told her SM Ent prospects are better...
though SooMarn companie is a jerk to artistes...