Auckland couple under investigation again over fire extinguisher scheme

An Auckland couple convicted of breaches to the Fair Trading Act is again under investigation.

Mira and Lalita Singh were fined $60,000 this year for inadequately servicing fire extinguishers.

But there are fears they're back to their old tricks.

Fire extinguishers are a health and safety necessity for any workplace. Mark Van Dorsten from the PSL Fire and Safety company says he felt suspicious about a recent sale of ten extinguishers.

"They paid folding cash, which for us is very unusual," he says.

The purchasers business is called 24 Hours Building Maintenance and it's solely owned by Mira Singh - the brother of Fijian pro-golfer Vijay Singh.

Mira himself was involved with golf in Fiji but here he and his wife have admitted breaking the law.

Earlier this year, they were fined for charging shops and restaurants to service their fire extinguishers - when they never actually did the work.

The industry fears they're back at it.

"I question their ethics on how they do business," Van Dorsten says.

But even though they pleaded guilty at the time, Singh now claims he and his wife didn't do it.

"I pleaded guilty because there was nobody to help me," he says.

He says the 10 extinguishers they recently bought, are now in Fiji.

Newshub understands the Commerce Commission is investigating again.

By purchasing the extinguishers, the Singhs may have breached a court order that banned them from ever supplying or servicing fire safety equipment again.

"I'm not allowed to do any business in New Zealand but since I've got a business in Fiji, my daughter runs the business, all I did is pick up the extinguishers and sent them," Mira says.

The Fire Protection Association has warned the suppliers of extinguishers not to sell to the Singhs.