Legal officer ‘responsible’ for the compliance of fundraising document named in Olivia Lum’s trial

[SINGAPORE] A former senior legal officer of Hyflux testified that her then-colleague Joscelyn Tan was in charge of the legal compliance of the offer information statement released for the issuance of preference shares in April 2011.

Yang Ai Chian was testifying as prosecution witness on Day 17 of the trial, in which the now-defunct water treatment company’s founder and former chief executive officer (CEO) Olivia Lum, former chief financial officer (CFO) Cho Wee Peng and four board members are each contesting at least one charge of being responsible for Hyflux’s non-disclosure of material information.

The six accused are facing a charge of not disclosing three pieces of information in a press release dated Mar 7, 2011 that was filed to the Singapore Exchange, and announced Hyflux being named the preferred bidder for the Tuaspring project. Except for Cho, the other five accused persons have also been charged with being responsible for Hyflux not disclosing the material information in the Apr 13, 2011 offer information statement for preference shares.