Oei Hong Leong declares sale of S$2.7m worth of shares in Raffles Education

A REGULATORY filing by tycoon Oei Hong Leong on Tuesday (Oct 19) showed that he had sold S$2.7 million worth of Raffles Education shares the day before (Oct 18), paring his stake in the company from 10.16 per cent to 7.34 per cent.

Oei, as a substantial shareholder, had disposed of some 38.9 million shares, translating to an average price of S$0.069 per share. A total of 52.3 million shares had been traded on Monday.

The disclosure follows a report in The Straits Times on Monday that the market had got hold of a letter by Oei, dated Oct 16, to the company's board. The letter is said to have asked why the company's chief executive and founder Chew Hua Seng had caused the company to hire all "adult members of his family at high salaries".

On Monday, Raffles Education's share price sank 26 per cent to close at S$0.061. Addressing the ST report, the company said in a bourse filing that it views the letter "as containing bare allegations and material inaccuracies which are not substantiated", and that it intends to respond in due course. Raffles Education subsequently called a trading halt on Tuesday morning.

Oei had previously sued Chew over an alleged share-purchase agreement dispute. Oei lost the lawsuit in February 2020.