AHTC will transfer sinking funds for Punggol East in instalments: Pritam Singh

SINGAPORE – Aljunied-Hougang Town Council (AHTC) has responded to comments made by Punggol East Member of Parliament Charles Chong on outstanding sinking funds to be transferred to Pasir Ris-Punggol Town Council (PRPTC), highlighting that after the 2013 by-election, PRPTC had taken 20 months to transfer in full the funds due to the Workers’ Party-held town council.

The WP lost Punggol East in the General Election last year, resulting in the management of the Punggol East to return to PRPTC in December. Last Friday, Mr Chong had told the media that PRPTC had only received S$10 million of the S$22.5 million in sinking funds it transferred to the former Aljunied-Hougang-Punggol East Town Council (AHPETC) in 2013.

On Monday (April 18), AHTC chairman Pritam Singh pointed out that PRPTC had transferred sinking funds in instalments after the 2013 by-election, which the WP won. “His comment that only an interim amount of S$10 million has been transferred so far is odd, in view of the sequence of interim sinking fund transfers for Punggol East SMC undertaken by Pasir-Ris Punggol Town Council (PRPTC) in 2013 and 2014,” said Mr Singh in a statement posted on the AHTC website.

Mr Singh said that after the Punggol East by-election in January 2013, PRPTC transferred S$10 million a few months later. The final instalment of Punggol East’s sinking funds was transferred to AHPETC in September 2014, some 20 months after the by-election. “In the end, the sinking funds for Punggol East SMC, were properly accounted for in the financial statements of Punggol East SMC and AHPETC respectively,” noted Mr Singh.

Mr Singh added: “Like PRPTC in 2013 and 2014, AHTC will transfer all sinking funds due to Punggol East SMC in instalments. We will work closely with our auditor to ensure that all sinking funds – after accounting for any expenditure on Punggol East SMC from 1 May 2013 to 30 Nov 2015 – are transferred to PRPTC in due course.”