TWO former senior employees of UOB Kay Hian Private Limited (UOBKH) were charged on Wednesday for allegedly lying to the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) in relation to reports on a then Catalist aspirant. Lan Kang Ming, 38, and Wee Toon Lee, 34, each face three charges of providing MAS with false information in October 2018 in relation to due diligence reports on an unidentified company applying to list on the Catalist board of the Singapore Exchange. MAS said in a media statement on Wednesday that it was performing an onsite inspection of UOBKH between June and August 2018, to assess the latter's controls, policies and procedures in relation to its role as an issue manager for Initial Public Offering (IPOs). During the examination, Lan and Wee were said to have provided different versions of a due diligence report relating to background checks on a company applying to be listed on the Catalist board of the Singapore Exchange. UOBKH had acted as the issu...
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Grace Leong
01 October 2014
The Blumont Group has launched a libel suit against the publisher and editor of The Edge Singapore over an article on last October’s penny stock crash. Blumont told the Singapore Exchange (SGX) on Monday that it is seeking damages from The Edge Publishing and editor Benjamin Paul, and an injunction to stop the magazine from publishing similar claims made in the original article.
Blumont had issued a clarification on Sept 1 in relation to the article entitled “Hunting for the Truth”, published in the Sept 1-7 edition of The Edge Singapore and The Edge Malaysia. The article made a series of claims, including one that said Blumont had sponsored an employment pass for Malaysian businessman Soh Chee Wen. The firm denied this, adding it had demanded a correction.
Blumont executive director Ng Kim Huatt declined comment yesterday while Mr Paul did not respond to requests for comment.
Blumont is one of eight mainboard-listed companies being investigated by the Commercial Affairs Department over possible breaches of securities laws.
Gold mining firm LionGold Corp also addressed certain allegations in the story in an SGX statement on Sept 2. The Edge had reported that former LionGold chief executive Nicholas Ng quit after a short stint because Mr Soh insisted on “calling the shots”.
LionGold told the SGX that “no single individual has or ever had unfettered authority over the business and affairs of the group”. It said Mr Ng resigned in March due to a medical condition and that Mr Soh, an adviser to LionGold chairman Nik Ibrahim Kamil, does not attend board meetings or receive remuneration.
The Edge reported that LionGold had paid “for a first-class seat for diamond mine investor Joseph Gutnick on a flight from Canada to Singapore last year” at Mr Soh’s request. LionGold, also part of the CAD probe, said it never paid for any air tickets for Mr Gutnick. The firm said it was seeking legal advice.