PRESS RELEASE 

13 August 2021

1.  We refer to the recent Facebook posts by Mr Benny Se Teo on the tiles supplied by Rice Fields. As we have received many queries on the incident including our valued clients, we believe it is important for us to share our side of the story.

2.  Mr Teo is not our client. We were engaged by Mr Teo’s designer (and not by Mr Teo) to supply three types of tiles the total value of which amounts only to a 4-figure sum. Mr Teo takes issue with two out of the three types of tiles supplied: (a) marble-inspired glazed tiles and (b) hexagonal cement-inspired tiles. We do not have any visibility or control over how our tiles were handled after the order was fulfilled in May 2021.

3.  Despite having no contractual relationship with Mr Teo, we have tried our best to assist. Upon discovering the situation in mid-July, a member of our staff offered to visit Mr Teo’s apartment on the very same day. This visit took place the following day at Mr Teo’s request, with two senior staff members visiting his apartment to physically inspect the tiles. 

4.  The hexagonal cement-inspired tiles are available in a variety of colours and within each colour, there is a variation of shades on each tile to communicate the characteristics of cement. It is up to the clients to select the mix of colours they prefer, and to lay the tiles in a pattern they choose.

5.  While the tiles are designed to look like cement, they are actually made of porcelain. The hexagonal cement-inspired tiles therefore cannot be cleaned by chemicals meant to clean actual cement. Ordinary household cleaning agents would have sufficed.

6.  We did not instruct Mr Teo and/or his designer to use an “acid” cleaner. At the physical inspection of Mr Teo’s apartment, we recommended a specific cleaning product to be used for the hexagonal cement-inspired tiles. It later transpired that the client was not using this product.

7.  With respect to the marble-inspired glazed tiles, we did not notice any visible warpage of the tiles during our physical inspection. 

8.  Following the physical inspection, we did not hear further from Mr Teo. We believed that his concerns had been fully addressed. We were therefore surprised that Mr Teo subsequently went on to make various allegations on social media with regards to our tiles.

9.  We also note that a picture has been widely circulated as the “before” picture of Mr Teo’s hexagonal tiles.  We would like to highlight that this is a picture of a water feature in our office, and not a picture of Mr Teo’s apartment (kitchen). That is the reason why the tiles in the “before” and “after” pictures are of a completely different mix of shades – the client did not apply the same pattern as the ones we used in our office. As the tiles in the “before” picture are from a different location (i.e. our office’s water feature) and are covered by water, they will also look different from the same tiles laid in a different place.