Contractor goes MIA with $27k without completing renovations, leaves cat hotel owner's dream in ruins

The owner of Naizz Hous Carpentry & Renovation has gone missing after receiving $27,700 in deposit without completing the renovation works at an East Coast cat hotel, which was scheduled to open this month.

The owner of Designer Cats Boutique Hotel, Alfred Khan, said: "The contractor, Helme Hamid, promised to complete my project by Aug 21. However, he has since gone MIA and none of my WhatsApp messages were replied to. Best of all, he has terminated his mobile number entirely.

"The only work done is the paintwork (by some random foreign Bangladeshi workers who were coincidentally painting the Vibes @ East Coast building; he paid a small fee for them and he didn't even pay them in full) and the wiring is also half done."

@alfredkhan My happiest day in my entire life! Hope you can sleep well every night! #designerbengalsingapore #fypsg #singporetiktok ♬ original sound - AlfredKhan

Alfred made a police report on Aug 21.

In response to a Stomp query, police confirmed that a report was lodged.

Alfred said that while doing an online search for Helme, Alfred found a post about Helme in a Facebook group called SG Business Blacklist / Scam Alert.

The post simply read: "Please PM me if you have been a victim of Helme Bin Abdul Hamid's scam."

"The post was surprisingly made by my own cousin," said Alfred. "So I decided to contact my cousin to ask if it's the same guy.

"After exchanging notes, yes, it's him! My cousin was scammed into an investment for sand transportation via shipping. He lost more than $30k to this Helme a year ago, who went on the run."

Alfred also posted about his experience in the same Facebook group.

He was then contacted by another person who had hired Helme to do renovation works.

The person told Alfred: "Helme requested payment of 90 per cent of the price quoted for a simple house reno of my four-room flat. He quoted about $30k. He told me it was a simple job and could be finished within one month. Seven months passed and he never completed the job.

"His workmanship was bad and he was not professional. The best part was he hurled vulgarities before ending the contract with the carpentry incomplete. I had to engage the carpenter privately. I had to pay him to complete the job because he claimed Helme never paid him a single cent.

"I didn't realise until today, he can manage to get new customers."

And one of those new customers was Alfred.

"Now I am stranded, helpless and totally at a loss," said Alfred. "How can this happen to me? My dream is ruined by this guy!

"I have to restart all over again and make sure I engage a reputable contractor for my urgent renovations."