Shanghai Turbo releases footage of violent altercation at China factory during 'siege period'

CHINA-based precision manufacturer Shanghai Turbo has uploaded a video of events which took place when the company was under "siege" - including a violent stand-off at its factory in China.

This comes amid an ongoing tussle over management changes at the mainboard-listed company.

The video contains footage of events which occurred during the "siege period" from April 15 to Sept 20, 2017, the company said in an exchange filing.

It will be played for shareholders during the company's annual general meeting on Monday.

Shanghai Turbo has been engaged in a legal tussle with former executive director Liu Ming since he was voted off the board in April 2017.

The company said in June that operations at a factory in China owned by a key operating subsidiary had been "temporarily stopped" and, in July, told shareholders that there was an "illegal occupation of the factory premises by some of the former management personnel and their associates".

The dispute came to a head in September when a group of people were allegedly attacked with plastic batons by associates of Mr Liu.

Two of the men said to have been assaulted were Raymond Lim, independent non-executive director of Shanghai Turbo Enterprises, and Zhang Rong, chief executive of its Changzhou 3D Technological Complete Set Equipment subsidiary.

The company sued Mr Liu for "failing to deliver up the factory premises" and also said that the Singapore High Court has granted an injunction to freeze Mr Liu's assets here.

In an exchange filing released after its annual general meeting, Shanghai Turbo said it intends to undertake a rights issue or placement of shares to strengthen its cash flow and working capital position.

This comes after the group experienced a significant decrease in revenue and incurred a net loss of 156 million yuan (S$32.4 million) in the financial year ended Dec 31, 2017 - partly due to the loss of revenue and additional expenses incurred during the "siege period".

The company also said it has "new orders to keep the plant busy" until the end of the second quarter of 2018 and is in the process of bidding for more orders for existing products as well as acquiring new customers and orders.

"The group is optimistic about the order outlook for the second half of 2018," the company said in its exchange filing.

"Subject to the satisfactory conclusion of the proposed recapitalisation exercise, improvement in payment collection, and increase in the group's order book, the board is of the opinion that the group will be able to operate as a going concern."