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AHTC trial: FMSS director asked Low Thia Khiang to replace ‘hopeless’ town council chairman Sylvia Lim

SINGAPORE — On the 16th day of a hearing for a multi-million-dollar lawsuit against Members of Parliament (MPs) from the Workers' Party (WP), proceedings took a dramatic turn when a recorded phone conversation between the director of FM Solutions and Services (FMSS) and a KPMG staff member was revealed in court.

FM Solutions and Services' director How Weng Fan (left) had told a KPMG staff member that Member of Parliament Sylvia Lim, chairman of Workers' Party, was a “hopeless” town council chairperson who was “inexperienced” and “so scared of everything”.

FM Solutions and Services' director How Weng Fan (left) had told a KPMG staff member that Member of Parliament Sylvia Lim, chairman of Workers' Party, was a “hopeless” town council chairperson who was “inexperienced” and “so scared of everything”.

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SINGAPORE — On the 16th day of a hearing for a multi-million-dollar lawsuit against Members of Parliament (MPs) from the Workers' Party (WP), proceedings took a dramatic turn when a recorded phone conversation between the director of FM Solutions and Services (FMSS) and a KPMG staff member was revealed in court.

FMSS is the former managing agent of the WP-run Aljunied-Hougang Town Council (AHTC), and Ms How Weng Fan and her late husband Danny Loh were the firm's owners and also WP supporters. Ms How was AHTC’s deputy secretary and general manager, while Loh was its secretary.

The couple are among eight defendants in the suit brought against them by the Pasir Ris-Punggol Town Council (PRPTC) and an independent panel acting on behalf of AHTC, over alleged improper payments made by the town councils between 2011 and 2015 to FMSS and third-party service providers.

Taking the stand for the first time on Monday (Oct 29), Ms How was questioned by Senior Counsel Davinder Singh — who is representing PRPTC — on a phone conversation she had in 2016 with the KPMG employee, who had contacted her to discuss the findings of their audit report on AHTC.

Parts of the conversation were read out by Mr Singh, with Ms How saying that Ms Sylvia Lim, AHTC’s chairperson and WP chairman, was a “hopeless” town council chairperson who was “inexperienced” and “so scared of everything”. She added that the town council would “sure die” under Ms Lim’s watch.

Ms How also accused Ms Lim of withholding information from auditors KPMG about “improper payments”, and that it was Ms Lim who did not want to keep the computer system of IT firm Action Information Management (AIM).

The court also heard that Ms How told the KPMG employee she was “not scared” to reveal that she was “thinking of asking (former WP chief Low Thia Khiang) to remove (Ms Lim) as chairperson of the town council”. She added that Mr Low had “played me (Ms How) out” by putting an “inexperienced MP as (town council) chairman".

“From Day One, when I knew that she was going to be the chairman… oh dear, the town council is going to die,” said Ms How in the phone conversation. “She will do things to protect herself only. Then I told (Mr Low) you have to replace her… (to straighten out the town council). He doesn’t want to listen.”

She also alleged that she had dirt to spill on the WP MPs. “All (the People’s Action Party) needs to do is to ask me for my views on the (elected) MPs… sure die, lah,” she was recorded as saying.

Earlier in the conversation, Ms How said that the town council was “digging (its) grave” if it did not defend her. Pointing to her “powerful analogy of death”, Mr Singh asked on Monday if that meant she had information that would “finish them (WP MPs) off”, and “destroy them politically”.

Ms How replied that she did not have any information, but that everyone would be “dragged through the mud” because of how the media would report it.

Ms How also alleged that Ms Lim had withheld from auditors information related to payments made to the Housing and Development Board (HDB) for lift services. When questioned by Mr Singh, she said: “The fact that the payments made to HDB were for lifts and services (that were) not rendered... these were improper and should (be) raised to KPMG to look into.”

TODAY has sent queries to the Attorney-General’s Chambers on whether it will be looking into the allegations.

WE ‘WENT THROUGH HELL’ TO SET UP TOWN COUNCIL

The day’s proceedings in court saw an emotional outburst from Ms How when she was asked about a comment she made to the KPMG employee on her late husband, who died in an accident in 2015. She had said: “You know I had to lose my husband… because of her (Ms Lim).”

When pressed, she launched into a tirade, saying they “went through hell to set up the town council properly”, and had to deal with the Auditor-General’s Office (AGO), as well as audits.

She added: “No one wanted to listen to the problems we (faced)... Because of the AGO report (where key lapses were found in the town council financial management)… (Ms Lim) felt compelled to impose liquidated damages (of S$250,000) on us.”

Turning emotional, Ms How said Loh had died of a heart attack while on holiday in Japan three years ago. He was still working out bonuses to staff members even while on vacation, she added.

On the issue of the computer system by AIM, the KPMG employee had asked Ms How why she did not extend the contract.

Ms How’s reply was: "She (Ms Sylvia Lim) doesn't want to extend. It's not that we do not want."

Earlier in the trial, Mr Singh had accused Ms Lim of deliberately perpetuating a “false impression” that an “upscale” of the town council’s computer system was needed because AIM, which previously managed its IT systems, was going to quit.

The issue of computer systems was raised in the WP MPs’ opening statements, where they said that the “lack of a proper computerised system greatly hampered the management of the town council in its early days”. The cost of upscaling of the system is part of the lawsuit.

Ms Lim testified in her affidavit that AHTC’s interim secretary Jeffrey Chua had informed Ms How and her in early June 2011 about AIM’s intention to withdraw its services. “My sense was that (Mr Chua) gave us this heads-up so that we could make the necessary preparations,” she said.

LEAVING HER NAME OUT AS SHAREHOLDER

On Monday, the court also heard about Ms How’s alleged conflicts of interest as director and shareholder of FMSS with her role as AHTC councillor.

When FMSS was incorporated in May 2011, Loh was listed as the sole shareholder. Mr Singh quizzed Ms How on why she did not list her name as a shareholder, since it was her evidence that the married couple wanted to set up a facilities management company together.

Ms How said that she was still with the Hougang Town Council during that time, but she had planned to join FMSS after leaving the town council.

Mr Singh put it to Ms How that she did not include her name as that “would tell anyone who does a search that you would continue to provide your services to AHTC through FMSS”. Ms How disagreed.

Mr Singh said that she had a role in drafting FMSS’ letter of intent in June 2011 to AHTC stating that the firm would take over as AHTC’s managing agent at its existing rates with CPG Facilities Management, its previous agent. He pointed out that it was not possible for the letter to state that if it did not know CPG’s contractual terms.

Ms How had provided evidence that she had the CPG contract and passed it to Ms Lim, but she disagreed with Mr Singh that she had a role to play in drafting the letter. She said Loh had drafted it, and that he could have gotten the details from CPG staff members or other industry contacts.

Mr Singh also accused Ms How of destroying evidence just before she left AHTC because she and Loh “had a great deal to be concerned about”.

He pointed to KPMG saying that email archives pertaining to Ms How were not on the electronic device assigned to her. Twenty-three documents and two email archives were deleted from the profile of a former FMSS employee on July 14, 2015, as well as 17 documents and four email archives from the profile of Loh on June 2, 2015.

Pressed by Mr Singh on the “convenient and sudden disappearance of evidence”, Ms How said that she did not delete anything, and that Loh had passed on all his emails to the chairman before leaving the town council.

Ms How will continue to take the stand on Tuesday.

Related topics

AHTC Low Thia Khiang Sylvia Lim Workers' Party

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