The tender conducted by Aljunied-Hougang Town Council (AHTC) in 2012 to find a managing agent was a foregone conclusion.

This was because of the conditions and circumstances put in place by former Secretary-General of the Workers' Party (WP), Low Thia Khiang, while he was a member of the town council.

This was one of the arguments put forth by Senior Counsel Davinder Singh during his cross-examination of Low in the afternoon of Oct. 17.

Low denied that was the case.

Alleged foregone conclusion

The plaintiff’s case is that Low asked WP supporters How Weng Fan and her late husband Danny Loh to set up a company to provide estate services.

Low maintains that this was a contingency plan, in the event that the existing managing agent, CPG Facilities Management, pulled out of Aljunied GRC following the 2011 general election.

FMSS would include WP supporters at the top and among the staff

A presentation was made by Loh to some of the newly-elected WP MPs on June 2, 2011 about his new company, FM Solutions & Services (FMSS).

Davinder said that Loh planned to take on the staff of Hougang Town Council (HTC) upon FMSS assuming the role of AHTC's Managing Agent.

And this, Davinder contended, would have meant that FMSS was led by WP supporters and comprised of staff who were also WP supporters.

Low refuted this, saying that he did not know for sure if every single member of HTC was a WP supporter.

No bids except for FMSS

Quoting from Low's own affidavit, Davinder referred to a list of companies who were providing Managing Agent services at the time:

• EM Services
• CPG Facilities Management
• Cushman & Wakefield

According to what Low had said, these three companies were unwilling to manage AHTC.

Davinder then contended that due to these circumstances, it was unlikely that any other company would put in a bid for the tender in 2012, besides FMSS.

He said:

"Therefore, based on your own evidence, you would have known that if FMSS was engaged to provide Managing Agent services to AHTC, and if FMSS was led by and included WP supporters, there was no way that any of these other players would want to offer Managing Agent services to AHTC."

Low denied this, and said that as an open tender, other companies were welcome to put in a bid.

Low said:

"No, it’s a commercial business. Anyone who thinks it’s a good proposal will tender for it."

But in response, Davinder said that Low could not have it "both ways". He said:

"You say those companies won’t touch AHTC. Now AHTC has engaged a WP’s company, you would have known that calling a tender would have resulted in no bids except your chosen one, FMSS."

Low said that was not true, and it was an assumption of Davinder to say so.

A question of comfort

Next, Davinder referred to an email exchange between Low, former WP MP Yaw Shin Leong and then-Chairman of AHTC Sylvia Lim on July 14, 2011.

In it, they discussed moving a town council meeting from July 21 to Aug. 4. This was because the handover of managing agents for AHTC was to take place on Aug. 1.

If the meeting had indeed taken place on July 21, Jeffrey Chua and other members of CPG would still be present.

Low felt that it would not be "appropriate" to discuss details of the incoming managing agent in front of the outgoing one.

Davinder asked Low since the appointment of FMSS as the new managing agent was proper and he had nothing to hide, why was there a need to move the meeting?

Low replied that he felt it would be "awkward" for both him and the members of CPG.

Why were you not comfortable?

Low and Davinder then sparred for about 20 minutes on this issue, with Davinder asking why would Low feel uncomfortable about having CPG present, and Low saying that he had "inherent distrust".

Low elaborated:

"I don’t think they would feel comfortable when we introduced the new managing agent."

Eventually, Davinder suggested that this was linked to Low's alleged concern about a possible tender.

He said that if at this meeting, CPG found out they would be replaced by FMSS, they might have told Low he needed to call a tender.

Said Davinder:

"You and your colleagues wanted at all costs to avoid a tender."

He added that CPG might have raised a "red flag" about a breach of the law if they had found out about FMSS.

In response, Low said:

"That is not true."

Conflict of interest or industry practice?

Near the end of the day's cross-examination, Davinder asked Low if he did not find it a significant issue that Loh and How were shareholders of the company acting as managing agent for AHTC.

He asked if this was a concern, given that both Loh and How were appointed to positions within the town council, which included a responsibility for checking payments.

In reply, Low said that this was an "industry practice".

He referred to an example in 2015 of a PAP-run town council, Jurong, where the managing director of the managing agent also held the position as secretary of the town council at the same time.

That secretary was also a member of the PAP.

Said Low:

"To me it’s a conflict, but it can be mitigated as it is an industry practice."

Big deal or no big deal?

Davinder then asked Low when he became aware of How and Loh's status as shareholders in FMSS, which meant a conflict of interest.

When Low initially suggested the occasion of the 2015 Auditor-General's report, Davinder said that it appeared Low knew about this "much earlier".

He referred to an email exchange between Low, Yaw and Lim on Aug. 3, 2011, in which they discussed the possibility of mentioning the "stakeholdership(s)" of FMSS during the town council meeting

Davinder pointed out that Lim had suggested including the "ACRA search" of FMSS, and asked if this was shared during the town council meeting on Aug. 4.

Low replied that it was not, and that he did not ask Lim about it. He added that he didn't think it was a "big deal" at that point in time.

Davinder replied that they were "all in court" because of that issue. He said:

"I suggest to you that a decision was made to suppress this from the town council."

Replied Low:

"That is absolutely not true."

The trial continues on Oct. 18, where Low is expected to take the stand again.

Related story:

https://mothership.sg/2018/10/ahtc-trial-day-9-davinder-singh-low-thia-khiang

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Top iamge by Sulaiman Daud.