Former Secretary-General of the Worker's Party (WP), Low Thia Khiang, wanted FM Solutions & Services (FMSS) to take on the management of Aljunied-Hougang Town Council (AHTC) as the employment of existing Hougang Town Council staff was an overriding consideration.

This was the essence of the arguments made by plaintiff lawyer Senior Counsel Davinder Singh on the morning of the ninth day of the Aljunied-Hougang Town Council trial on Oct. 17.

Returning to events of June 2011, Davinder questioned Low about the letter he had sent to How Weng Fan at that time, and whether it meant that FMSS would come into the picture of managing AHTC once the letter had been signed.

How is behind the FMSS firm, which was started together with her late husband.

In response, Low said, "Yes."

Davinder then asked Low if the signing would mean that FMSS could decide what it wanted to do with the staff of Hougang Town Council (HTC).

Low disagreed, stating that he wanted FMSS to employ all of the HTC staff on the grounds that they had accumulated 20 years of experience.

To this, Low elaborated that "the value of FMSS is only when they employ staff" and that it was "part of the contingency plan".

Recap to the case

The Oct. 17 proceedings was the second day the senior WP figure was crossed-examined by Davinder, who is representing the plaintiff, Pasir Ris-Punggol Town Council (PRPTC).

From 2013 to 2015, Punggol East was managed by the combined Aljunied-Hougang-Punggol East Town Council (AHPETC).

PRPTC is currently managing Punggol East ward. It is suing several defendants for allegedly breaching their fiduciary duties to AHTC.

These defendants include WP MPs Low, Sylvia Lim, Pritam Singh, How and the FM Solutions & Services company, of which How is a majority owner.

Directed FMSS instead of letting it operate like an independent company

Initially, Davinder questioned why Low was giving FMSS instructions, even though it was a company that was independent of AHTC.

Low disputed Davinder's statement, stating that he was telling FMSS "what I would want".

Disagreeing, Davinder replied that town councils had a need for a professional relationship with the managing agent that was objective, independent and at "arms-length".

This led Low to quote a Chinese saying, which was subsequently translated to roughly imply how the status of a person as a relative or enemy was irrelevant to his capability or competency.

Adding that while he was aware of the potential conflict of interest, Low would not have avoided the person because of this issue and that he would have worked to mitigate it.

This resulted in Davinder's rebuttal that if that was the case, Low should have left it to How to hire based on ability.

AHTC would fund FMSS

To further strengthen his allegation that Low wanted the Hougang Town Council staff to be hired above all else, Davinder then turned to the issue of funding for FMSS, suggesting that the costs of the company would be taken care of by AHTC.

Low disagreed to this, stating that it was for the company to plan out its own capitalisation and that it was not his concern.

Davinder replied that this did not seem to be the case, however, since Low had given directions to How to engage the Hougang town council staff, and ultimately, where FMSS found the money was irrelevant since it would be funded by AHTC.

Again, Low disagreed, repeating that he assumed FMSS would find the capital.

Davinder then changed tack, asking Low if the decision to get FMSS to hire staff and fund their payment was done without the consultation of the other town council members.

To this, Low said, "Yes."

Lack of a call for a tender

Subsequently, Davinder brought up the lack of a call for a tender, asking Low why he did not call for one despite his 20 years of experience in managing a town council and his knowledge of the rule that a tender would have to be called for staff costs above S$70,000.

Low replied that it was a hypothetical scenario and that the calling of a tender had not crossed his mind as it was a matter of a novation of staff to a new company.

When Davinder asked if staff costs were a cost to AHTC, Low replied that the staff costs would have been the same, with or without the appointment of a managing agent and reiterated again that the calling of a tender "did not cross my mind."

This resulted in Davinder alleging that Low had not put in a tender because there was a possibility another entity could have put in a bid.

Low's response was that had there been one, anyone could have put been in a bid.

This led to Davinder's next line of questioning where he asked Low if he was duty-bound to consider a bid that was better than FMSS and would have meant a risk that the Hougang staff would not be re-engaged by the Aljunied town council.

Low answered that while he would have accepted a bid that was better than FMSS, he would also have worked into the tender the condition of employing the Hougang staff.

Accordingly, Davinder then asked Low if he would not have accepted the bid of someone more qualified and experienced because of the overriding importance of retaining the Hougang staff.

Low replied in the affirmative.

The trial continues.

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Top photo by Matthias Ang