In response to the Statement of Claim against them, three Worker's Party MPs - Aljunied-Hougang Town Council (AHTC) chairman Pritam Singh, vice-chairman, Sylvia Lim, and Workers’ Party (WP) Secretary-General Low Thia Khiang jointly issued a press release on Jul 26 denying all allegations.

The press release was shared on WP's website and its official Facebook page.

The three MPs have also indicated in their statement that they will be contesting the lawsuit filed by AHTC.

According to what is understood from case details, AHTC is claiming S$622,593.78 in liquidated claims from multiple parties, as well as S$4,167,501.71 in unliquidated claims, along with any additional sums that may be involved.

You can read the press release below:

1. We confirm that we have received the Statement of Claim filed by the Aljunied-Hougang Town Council against us individually.

2. We have engaged M/s Tan Rajah and Cheah to defend the claim for the 1st to 5th Defendants.

3. In the suit against us, amongst other things, it is alleged that:

(a) We have acted in breach of our fiduciary duties and duties of care and skill owed to AHTC.

(b) We set up a faulty system which allowed the appointment of FMSS and made it possible for FMSS and/or their officers to benefit themselves.

(c) We entered into contracts with architects in breach of duties owed to AHTC.

4. Our reply to all these allegations is NO.

5. We are taking legal advice and will contest the lawsuit and lay out our case vigorously in court.

6. We wish to make the following points:

(a) Low Thia Khiang and Sylvia Lim have been asked to give an account of profits made from the appointment of FMSS or pay damages not less than $1.25 million. We have not benefitted a single cent.

(b) Sylvia Lim and Pritam Singh have been asked to pay damages of $2.8 million for the wrongful appointment of architects.

(c) The WP MPs have acted in good faith and in the best interests of the Town Council and our residents.

(d) In the course of these proceedings, we will be furnishing more information so that all concerned will be clearer on the issues and why we made the decisions and acted as we did.

Low Thia Khiang

Sylvia Lim

Pritam Singh

26 July 2017

Quick recap:

If you find yourself going "wait, what's going on?" (yes, this is related to a saga that dates back several years but had gone dormant for a while.) Taking into account most recent developments, basically this is the tl;dr version:

1) AHTC payment transactions from May 2011 to November 2015 are deemed to be “improper” and may be perceived as criminal conduct if deliberate. A report found "regulatory breaches, and improper payments made from Town Council funds running into millions of dollars", and the "possibility of criminal conduct".

2) AHTC is taking Pritam Singh, Sylvia Lim and Low Thia Khiang, and also some others to court, looking to recover the supposedly "lost monies".

3) The three have denied these allegations, saying that  "we have not benefited a single cent, and that "the WP MPs have acted in good faith and in the best interests of the Town Council and our residents."

Seems like after Oxley Road, the AHTC saga has returned.

Here are totally unrelated but equally interesting articles:

4 real life versions of comic book superpowers you used to read about in your childhood

17 acronyms you need to know before turning 25 to get ahead in life

Catch up on the AHTC saga:

Workers’ Party town councillors face legal actions over past payments

New potential WP Town Council management offences flagged. How will WP respond?

KPMG’s report on Aljunied-Hougang Town Council’s so serious, the word “criminal” was mentioned

MND “deeply concerned” with KPMG report findings, asks WP AHTC to recover lost monies

Top image adapted via AHTC, Worker's Party Facebook post and website

[related_story]