Axington ex-director Marjory Loh declared bankrupt

MARJORY Loh, a former director of the listed Axington and sister of Terence Loh, has been made bankrupt in early October on an application by DBS Bank on a debt of S$3.2 million she guaranteed.

Her bankruptcy, made official after she did not contest the application, followed those of her 44-year-old brother Terence in July and their 42-year-old cousin Nelson Loh last December.

The Loh siblings were bankrupted on the guarantees they provided to banks for wine trader and distributor Giron, The Business Times understands. A bankruptcy search showed that Marjory Loh gave a personal guarantee for the S$3.2 million debt owed to DBS, which was represented by lawyer Ng Yeow Khoon of Shook Lin & Bok in the bankruptcy petition.

The Loh siblings collectively held about 64 per cent stake in Giron, which applied for creditors' voluntary liquidation in May, months after Terence Loh made a police report alleging improper transfers of over S$5 million from Giron's accounts.

The downfall of the Lohs, including that of Nelson Loh, capped a scandal that unfolded last August when the two male cousins burst into the spotlight for their reported £280 million (S$502 million) takeover bid under Bellagraph Nova Group for English Premier League club Newcastle United.

That company was formed by a merger between Bellagraph Group, an entity owned by Evangeline Shen, and the Loh cousins' private vehicle Dorr Group. But it went downhill after photographs featuring them and former United States president Barack Obama were found to have been doctored, and inconsistencies in publicity materials surfaced.

GET BT IN YOUR INBOX DAILY

Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox.

Sign UpVIEW ALL

Marjory Loh quit the Singapore's Catalist-listed firm Axington as executive director last August as a result of the "intense public scrutiny" on the company, Axington said then and suspended its shares shortly after.

The Loh cousins' disputes deepened and they split their business ventures in the medical, wellness and aesthetics sectors last October, as some of the entities established in their 12-year business relationship became embroiled in a festering scandal.