Pet Supplies Shop Owner Twice Rejected From CDC Voucher Scheme Appeals To MP

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CDC vouchers and SG60 vouchers can be used at many shops in the heartlands to buy everything from groceries to Pokémon cards, there are some businesses finding it difficult to be included in the scheme.

Speaking to 8days.sg, Cyndy Yap, 41, owner of pet supplies shop, I.N.U Boutique in Balestier, who has made multiple appeals to join the scheme, and has even recently gone to a Meet-the-People session with Jalan Besar MP Denise Phua to raise her case.

Cyndy said her appeals to join the CDC Voucher scheme have been rejected twice since December 2024 due to her shop’s location.

The pet retail store has been hoping to accept CDC vouchers, especially after S$800 worth of vouchers were disbursed to all Singapore households in May this year. In July, Singapore citizens aged 21 to 59 also received additional SG60 vouchers worth S$600, while those 60 and above received S$800. 

According to screenshots Cyndy sent to 8days.sg, the CDC Voucher Team informed her that only merchants located below HDB housing estates and hawker centres were eligible.

The team also highlighted that businesses in the following places were not allowed: Privately owned land (i.e Private Malls, Condominiums, Commercial, Industrial Buildings), Conservation Shophouses, Appt cum Shops, Mixed Development, Bus Depot, Interchange and MRT Mall, Hotels, Hospitals and Public Buildings, Pop up Stores, Kiosks, Shopfront and Night Market Vendors.  

CDC vouchers also cannot be used for lottery products, petrol, alcohol, and cigarettes.

Cyndy also told 8days.sg that her latest appeal in May was picked up by the People’s Association (PA), who told her that her case would be reviewed in two to three months.

However, frustrated by the lack of progress, she decided to attend a Meet-The-People with Jalan Besar MP Denise Phua. This was after a fellow pet business owner told her that their shop was recently approved to be part of the scheme, even though they were not located in a HDB estate or hawker centre.

According to Cyndy, Miss Phua told her that the CDC Voucher scheme is currently under review and there may be a possibility that usage could revert back to being limited to shops in the heartlands.

She declined to name the businesses that reached out to her, but says they not located in a HDB estate nor a hawker centre.

“Apparently, a business association lobbied on their behalf. Why are they allowed and not where I am in Balestier?” asked Cyndy.

A quick check online showed that a number of pet services in the area were allowed to accept CDC vouchers.

Photos: I.N.U Boutique, CDC Voucher Scheme