Today is the day (November 9, 2022) when the judgment is released. Although the Town Councillors and Employees involved may have acted in good faith, there was neither an adequate nor an independent safeguard in AHTC’s approval process for disbursing payments to FMSS and FMSI.
May 2013
February 2015
An audit of AHPETC by the Auditor-General’s Office (AGO) found several lapses in governance and compliance.
Both husband and wife were longtime WP supporters.
November 2015
The Court of Appeal directed AHTC to appoint independent accountants to fix the lapses in their accounts.
January 2016
When it was still not done in January, the Court of Appeal ordered the Workers’ Party-run town council to appoint accountants from one of the Big Four accounting firms within two weeks to examine its books, saying that it was a matter of public interest and that the appointment should not be delayed further.
February 2016
AHTC asked for more time to provide details on accountants.
March 2016
Finally, on 1 March 2016, AHTC appointed KPMG to audit their books.
October 2016
KPMG found pervasive control failures that cut across key areas of governance, financial control, financial reporting, procurement and records management over the course of 5 years.
KPMG’s Oct report 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.”
February 2017
The three eminent persons appointed by WP to the panel are: Senior Counsel Philip Jeyaretnam, Senior Counsel N Sreenivasan and Mr Ong Pang Thye, a managing partner of KPMG.
The independent panel will act on behalf of the town council (AHTC).
July 2017
September 2017
October 2018
The trial began 5 Oct and ended 30 Oct.
October 2019
Verdict of the trial: The MPs, town councillors and senior employees of the AHTC and FMSS were found liable for some of the claims made against them by the AHTC and PRPTC.
