Claims filed against 4 ex-NKF directors

Tuesday, July 4, 2006
Loh Chee Kong
cheekong@newstoday.com.sg

May be liable to chip in for damages and legal costs

The lawyer acting for former National Kidney Foundation (NKF) chairman Richard Yong and treasurer Loo Say San has filed for claims against the four other former directors.

Yesterday, lawyer Chia Boon Teck was given permission by the High Court to serve the claims on the remaining board members who will now be implicated in the new NKF's attempt to recover some $12.1 million in salaries, benefits and losses incurred following failed contracts for IT-related services.

In the statement of claims filed yesterday, Mr Yong and Mr Loo want the four board members, who were only named two weeks ago as "third parties" in the civil suit, to contribute to the damages as well as costs of the legal proceedings should they be deemed liable by the courts.

The four are certified public accountant Alwyn Lim, Associate-Professor Lawrence Chia who is now a part-time consultant in alumni relations for the National University of Singapore, lawyer Kweh Soon Han, and Mr Chow Kok Fong, the chief executive officer of Changi Airport Managers and Partners, a subsidiary of the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore.

When the new NKF filed a civil suit against its previous board of directors three months ago, only three of the seven directors — Mr Yong, Mr Loo and Ms Matilda Chua — were named as defendants. The other two persons named in the civil suit are former chief executive TT Durai and his friend Pharis Aboobacker.

Mr Chia then made an application for the remaining board members to be included, and the High Court approved the application.

Among the four, who have until July 31 to file their defences, Mr Lim could become a central figure in the civil suit. He had chaired the old NKF's finance committee and was involved in its key fiscal decisions.

Yesterday, the new NKF, which is represented by a legal team from Allen & Gledhill, was also due to respond to the Mr Yong's and Mr Loo's defence, which was amended on June 9. But according to Mr Chia, it has requested for an extension.

The hearing for the civil suit has been tentatively fixed for Jan 8 to Feb 9 next year.

Four former directors named as third parties in civil suit by new NKF

Time is GMT + 8 hours
Posted: 03 July 2006 2219 hrs
By Rita Zahara and Valarie Tan, Channel NewsAsia

Former National Kidney Foundation directors Richard Yong and Loo Say San had earlier filed an 83-page statement of claim at the High Court demanding that 4 other former directors be included as third parties in the civil suit filed by the new NKF management.

The court has now given the go-ahead to include the 4 as third parties in the more than S$12 million lawsuit filed by the new NKF against its former chief TT Durai and 3 other former directors.

Mr Alwyn Lim - former chairman of the old NKF's Finance Committee - appeared to be the man in the centre of the storm.

Referring to NKF's Investment Reports from 2001 to 2004, Yong and Loo said Lim had consistently reported that the NKF fund-raising cost never exceeded 30 percent when in fact it did.

He was also alleged to be behind the statement that claimed that 52 cents of every dollar raised went to beneficiaries and programmes, when it was actually only 10 cents.

The new NKF also claimed that financial manipulation was used to reach such figures.

They noted that the sum of $31 million was reported to have been used to treat dialysis patients when patients actually paid $24 million and only $7 million came from the NKF's donation income.

The sums patients paid to NKF for treatments were also included as part of the income raised by the NKF and much of the general overhead costs associated with raising funds were allocated to costs linked to beneficiaries and programmes.

The other 3 named are the former Assistant Honorary Treasurer, Associate Professor Lawrence Chia, (now a part-time consultant in alumni relations for the National University of Singapore), lawyer Kweh Soon Han and Chow Kok Fong (the managing director of Equitas Corporation).

Yong and Loo claimed that as directors, the four attended meetings and participated in the decisions taken by the Board for which Yong and Loo have now been alleged to have been in breach.

Yong and Loo are not happy they are being singled out in the civil suit by the new NKF and felt the rest of the former board should also be held responsible.

In the event they are found to be liable to the new NKF, their lawyer, Chia Boon Teck of Khattar Wong, says Yong and Loo will look to the 4 men to also pay the costs and damages.

The 4 former board of directors and the other 3 board members - Matilda Chua, Yong and Loo, along with the lawyers are expected back in court on July 24 for a pre-trial conference where the court will direct and discuss preparations for the hearing, which is expected to take place early next year, from January 8 to February 9.

The court has given the four men four weeks to file their defences.

Former NKF CEO TT Durai and his friend, Pharis Aboobacker are the other two sued in the case.

Nearly 3 months ago, the new NKF took Durai and former board members Yong, Loo and Chua to court to recover salaries and bonuses paid to them.

The new NKF also hopes to recover S$7.5 million worth of payments made to 2 firms, Protonweb Sotlutions and Forte Systems for call centre services and software development.

In a probe last year, auditing firm KPMG has found that the 2 companies owed by Aboobacker had either overcharged their services or had not delivered as promised. - CNA/ch