The woes of ailing Raffles Boulevard shopping centre Marina Square trudge on with even more tenants hopping on the suing bandwagon with the mall. All of Marina Square’s troubles continued rolling ever since news of the mall’s severe rodent infestation came to light.
After the mall started legal proceedings against them, former tenant Pita Pan Management Pte Ltd is countersuing their ex-landlord for damages, TODAY reports. Existing tenant Saigon Times Pte Ltd are also claiming damages from the mall and several fellow tenants after the rat problem resulted in significant decline in business.
Prior to them, Caerus Holding — who manages former tenant Lady M Confections — countersued Marina Square as well after the mall sought compensation and damages for pulling out.
For Pita Pan Management, the mall claimed that they breached the terms of its lease and failed to pay the sums agreed under it — $189,680.10. Pita Pan had pulled out the mall in November last year, eight months before their lease expired.
Pita Pan however struck back, arguing that the mall had been negligent, and was responsible for ensuring that a rat infestation would not occur. They claimed that their restaurant faced a continuous decline in sales in the wake of the bad press ever since a rat was found in a vegetable stew at Hotpot Culture.
For Saigon Times Pte Ltd — who operate the restaurant Saigon Baguette — they’re suing the mall and eight other tenants, claiming damages of $249,000. They claim that the mall had ignored all of their requests to seal up a hole in their storeroom, which they believe was a source of the rat problem. Apparently their business plunged 80 percent since news emerged about rodent activity detected in the false ceilings of 14 Marina Square eateries and at a bin centre.
