‘No impediment’ to CEO retaining role amid police probe: board of Singapore Kitchen Equipment
Sharanya Pillai
THE board of Singapore Kitchen Equipment (SKE) “sees no impediment” to chief executive Sally Chua and senior manager Charlene Koh remaining in their roles while they are being investigated by the Commercial Affairs Department (CAD).
SKE disclosed this in a Thursday (June 15) bourse filing, in which it responded to queries from the Singapore Exchange about the nature of the CAD investigation, and whether Chua and Koh should remain in their posts.
On Wednesday, SKE disclosed that the two women had been released on bail after having been interviewed by the CAD, and that the investigation was into a potential offence under the Penal Code. It did not elaborate.
In its latest filing, SKE said that neither Chua nor Koh had been arrested. But it added that the pair were on agency bail, due to be renewed on Jun 28. Chua and Koh understand that they are the subjects of the investigation, and have surrendered their passports.
The CAD probe arose from the outcome of a fact-finding review by law firm Rajah & Tann, involving eight payments amounting to S$1.4 million, SKE said. The payments had been made by SKE’s majority shareholder, QKE Holdings, on behalf of the company’s main operating subsidiary, Q’son Kitchen Equipment (QKE).
Rajah & Tann’s review found that “certain employees of QKE had altered… documents unilaterally, without instructions from, and knowledge and/or approval by the Executive Directors, including the CEO”.
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“(Such) findings are not conclusive as to whether Chua and/or Koh have any liability under the Penal Code,” SKE said in its Thursday filing, citing this as a reason for the board’s move to let them keep their positions.
Another reason is that both individuals told the board that no charges have been made against either of them. In addition, the board found that SKE “has taken steps to strengthen and enhance its internal controls and governance” to prevent a repeat of the eight transactions.
“(The) internal control measures taken by the company have been thoroughly reviewed by the company’s internal auditors, who have confirmed that all gaps had been remediated,” SKE added in its filing.
That said, SKE’s board and nominating committee may revise their assessment if there are further developments.
Trading in SKE shares has been suspended since August 2021.
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