Independent panel suing on behalf of Aljunied-Hougang Town Council

SINGAPORE — The lawsuit against the Workers’ Party (WP) town councillors and other related parties was filed by an independent panel on behalf of the WP-run Aljunied-Hougang Town Council (AHTC).

The panel was appointed in February to recommend the recovery actions which AHTC needs to take over large sums of improper payments, which ran into the millions.

These payments were flagged by the town council’s auditor KPMG in October last year.

The appointment of the panel was welcomed by AHTC chairman Pritam Singh as “in the interests” of the town council. Apart from Mr Singh, WP chief Low Thia Khiang and WP chairman Sylvia Lim are the other WP leaders being sued.

The independent panel is chaired by Senior Counsel Philip Jeyaretnam, and its other members are Senior Counsel N Sreenivasan and Mr Ong Pang Thye, a managing partner of KPMG.

Under its terms of reference, the panel is meant to “act in the best interests of AHTC” and “remain independent and impartial at all times”.

While it is entitled to seek and consider the views of AHTC or the Housing and Development Board (HDB), it should not take any direction from them or other stakeholders.

In its report released last October, KPMG said it was beyond its mandate to conclude whether any offence had been committed, but noted: “We are advised that, had the shortcomings (identified in) this report been committed deliberately, they could amount to criminal conduct, the implications of which the town council should consider.”

The lawsuit is the latest twist in a long-running saga which can be traced back to 2014, when the Government directed the Auditor-General to audit the accounts of the WP-run Aljunied-Hougang-Punggol East Town Council (AHPETC). This was after independent auditors engaged by AHPETC issued a disclaimer of opinion — having flagged over a dozen areas as issues of concern — on the town council’s financial statements for financial years 2011/2012 and 2012/2013.

About a year later, the Auditor-General’s Office issued a report highlighting lapses in governance and compliance by AHPETC.

The lapses prompted then-National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan to table a motion in Parliament, which among other things, called on town councils to uphold higher standards of accounting and reporting to safeguard residents’ interests.

The matter also went to the courts after the Ministry of National Development and the HDB sought to have independent accountants appointed to the town council.

AHPETC was re-constituted as AHTC after the 2015 General Election where WP lost the Punggol East seat.