15 September 2014 – Afternoon session (Backdating the IC minutes) (17th Sept 2014: MrsLightnFriends)

With regards to what was reported on the Straits Times home page B5. “Sharon Tan checked with Serina Wee and co-accused Chew Eng Han before backdating the minutes of meeting”. What I heard from the court is different. 

 

During Sharon Tan’s EIC, Mr Ramesh referred her to an email that she had sent to Chew Eng Han and Serina Wee dated 8 August 2008.
 

She wrote:

Dear Eng Han and Serina,
Regarding resignation of Siow Ngea from CHC to Xtron… I need to confirm the following:
1. Letter of resignation and disclosure of Siow Ngea to be written to the Board.
2. As he will only officially resign on the EGM date must we ensure that he will only be a director of XPL after this date.

Then Serina replied to Sharon:
He has officially become a director of Xtron as at 29 July 2008. No need to wait for EGM date.

Ramesh: “When did you first discover that Mr Koh Siow Ngea was appointed an officer, a director of Xtron on 29 July 2008?

Sharon: “Your Honour, I only knew about this appointment in Xtron on 8 August 2008, which is when I received this email from Serina.”

From this email, Ramesh tried to help Sharon to link her memory to another email dated on 1 August 2008 related to an audit issue “CHC to disclose RPT (Related Party Transaction) in FS (Financial Statement).

Ramesh: “Let me sketch this. If a transaction were to take place between CHC and Xtron at this point in time, based on what you understood to be Mr Koh’s position as an officer of the church and a future officer of Xtron, what RPT issues would arise, if at all? “

Sharon: “Your Honour, if Siow Ngea is appointed as a officer of Xtron, and, at the same time being the officer of the church, then that would pose a major conflict of interest.”

….

Ramesh: “What was your state of mind at this point in time?”

Sharon: “Your Honour, I was very concerned at this point, so I went ahead to pick up the phone and check with Serina what happened.”

Ramesh: “What did Ms Wee tell you?”

Sharon: “Serina told me that she has already appointed Siow Ngea as an Xtron director, and because I was concerned over it, I asked her if she is able to appoint Siow Ngea at a later date, but she explained to me that she has already filed with ACRA and she can’t change on her side, so I will have to change on my side. So with that answer, I inferred that, okay, I have to change the minutes date, the meeting date on the minutes.”

Ramesh: “Why you pick 29 July as the date for the minutes?”

Sharon: “Your Honour because it was done in a rush, so I just picked the date that is Siow Ngea’s appointment date in Xtron.”

Ramesh: “Who did you consult with regard to this date, if at all?

Sharon: “Your Honour, I recall very clearly that I had this conversation with Serina.”