Legal application made to include all former NKF directors in civil suit
Time is GMT + 8 hours
Posted: 09 June 2006 2037 hrs
By Pearl Forss, Channel NewsAsia
Lawyers for former NKF directors Richard Yong and Loo Say San have applied to include all the former NKF directors in the civil suit being filed by the new NKF.
Currently, only three out of seven of the former board members are being sued by the new NKF to recover more than S$12 million in damages.
The three include Yong, who was also the former chairman of the old National Kidney Foundation (NKF) and Loo, who was also the former treasurer, as well as Matilda Chua.
The new NKF management had alleged that former CEO TT Durai had manipulated the board of directors.
But in their amended defences, Yong and Loo said that though they relied on Durai's experience, skills and professionalism, at no time did they take any instruction from Durai.
They also claimed that the internal or external auditors of NKF did not raise any alarm that ought to have alerted them to any of the allegations raised in the statement of claims.
On allegations that there was a "lack of any remuneration policy" leading to the high pay of certain NKF staff, both men said that an audit committee did attend to this matter.
They added that decisions made by the finance committee were reported to the executive committee and board of directors at all times.
But both Yong and Loo stated that Matilda Chua's generous pay performance bonuses were within the authority of Durai and they were "unsure of the dates and figures".
Yong and Loo also denied that Durai made the Heads of Department report to him alone, hence allowing Durai to assume control without any effective checks and balances by the board.
Yong and Loo claimed that although Heads of Department reported to Durai on a daily basis, they also reported to the executive committee at its meetings.
On allegations that Durai frequently caused NKF to adopt irregular accounting techniques to avoid costs of a fund raising event to exceed 30 percent of gross proceeds, both men said this was an accounting issue that was handled by NKF's finance department.
They claimed that at no time did finance department, project auditors or external auditors raise any alarms that there might have been any breach of the 30/70 rule, and the NKF finance committee consistently reported that the NKF's fund raising costs never exceeded 30 percent.
It was a National Council of Social Services guideline that expenses must not exceed 30 percent of total donations collected from the public for charity fundraising.
On the new NKF's statement that allowing NKF to raise funds and train personnel overseas was not according to NKF's memorandum of association and hence a breach of fiduciary duties, Yong and Loo claimed that they believed it was permissible to do so for the benefit of the charity.
Both men also claimed that every overseas trip they made using NKF's expenses was directly or indirectly related to fund raising or staff recruitment, though the new NKF alleged that expensive overseas trips "did not generate any identifiable concepts or ideas for fund raising."
Yong and Loo were both volunteers at the NKF and never received any remuneration.
Yong volunteered for 18 years and Loo, 9 years.
Chia Boon Teck, the defence lawyer for Yong and Loo, said: "We took our client's instructions and decided that if there is any lack of corporate governance, then really it should be all the directors who would have to answer for the lack of corporate governance and not just a select few."
The other former directors who are being roped in the case include Alwyn Lim Kah Ho, Lawrence Chia Hock Leong, Kweh Soon Han and Chow Kok Fong.
Meanwhile, in a surprise move, 17 cartons of documents were received by Yong and Loo's lawyers on Friday afternoon.
The papers were sent by Pharis Aboobacker who is in India.
He is Durai's friend who is also being sued by the new NKF for more than $5 million.
It is alleged that Pharis Aboobacker's companies, Forte Systems and Protonweb Solutions, did not fulfil contracts signed with the old NKF and still received payment.
Yong and Loo's lawyers believe the papers, which contain information on NKF's dealings with both companies, might be able to prove that the old NKF's transactions with Forte and Protonweb were aboveboard.
NKF's civil and criminal suits will be heard in court again on 19 June.
Trial for the civil suit is expected to begin on 8 January next year. - CNA/ir
Posted: 09 June 2006 2037 hrs
By Pearl Forss, Channel NewsAsia
Lawyers for former NKF directors Richard Yong and Loo Say San have applied to include all the former NKF directors in the civil suit being filed by the new NKF.
Currently, only three out of seven of the former board members are being sued by the new NKF to recover more than S$12 million in damages.
The three include Yong, who was also the former chairman of the old National Kidney Foundation (NKF) and Loo, who was also the former treasurer, as well as Matilda Chua.
The new NKF management had alleged that former CEO TT Durai had manipulated the board of directors.
But in their amended defences, Yong and Loo said that though they relied on Durai's experience, skills and professionalism, at no time did they take any instruction from Durai.
They also claimed that the internal or external auditors of NKF did not raise any alarm that ought to have alerted them to any of the allegations raised in the statement of claims.
On allegations that there was a "lack of any remuneration policy" leading to the high pay of certain NKF staff, both men said that an audit committee did attend to this matter.
They added that decisions made by the finance committee were reported to the executive committee and board of directors at all times.
But both Yong and Loo stated that Matilda Chua's generous pay performance bonuses were within the authority of Durai and they were "unsure of the dates and figures".
Yong and Loo also denied that Durai made the Heads of Department report to him alone, hence allowing Durai to assume control without any effective checks and balances by the board.
Yong and Loo claimed that although Heads of Department reported to Durai on a daily basis, they also reported to the executive committee at its meetings.
On allegations that Durai frequently caused NKF to adopt irregular accounting techniques to avoid costs of a fund raising event to exceed 30 percent of gross proceeds, both men said this was an accounting issue that was handled by NKF's finance department.
They claimed that at no time did finance department, project auditors or external auditors raise any alarms that there might have been any breach of the 30/70 rule, and the NKF finance committee consistently reported that the NKF's fund raising costs never exceeded 30 percent.
It was a National Council of Social Services guideline that expenses must not exceed 30 percent of total donations collected from the public for charity fundraising.
On the new NKF's statement that allowing NKF to raise funds and train personnel overseas was not according to NKF's memorandum of association and hence a breach of fiduciary duties, Yong and Loo claimed that they believed it was permissible to do so for the benefit of the charity.
Both men also claimed that every overseas trip they made using NKF's expenses was directly or indirectly related to fund raising or staff recruitment, though the new NKF alleged that expensive overseas trips "did not generate any identifiable concepts or ideas for fund raising."
Yong and Loo were both volunteers at the NKF and never received any remuneration.
Yong volunteered for 18 years and Loo, 9 years.
Chia Boon Teck, the defence lawyer for Yong and Loo, said: "We took our client's instructions and decided that if there is any lack of corporate governance, then really it should be all the directors who would have to answer for the lack of corporate governance and not just a select few."
The other former directors who are being roped in the case include Alwyn Lim Kah Ho, Lawrence Chia Hock Leong, Kweh Soon Han and Chow Kok Fong.
Meanwhile, in a surprise move, 17 cartons of documents were received by Yong and Loo's lawyers on Friday afternoon.
The papers were sent by Pharis Aboobacker who is in India.
He is Durai's friend who is also being sued by the new NKF for more than $5 million.
It is alleged that Pharis Aboobacker's companies, Forte Systems and Protonweb Solutions, did not fulfil contracts signed with the old NKF and still received payment.
Yong and Loo's lawyers believe the papers, which contain information on NKF's dealings with both companies, might be able to prove that the old NKF's transactions with Forte and Protonweb were aboveboard.
NKF's civil and criminal suits will be heard in court again on 19 June.
Trial for the civil suit is expected to begin on 8 January next year. - CNA/ir
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