SINGAPORE : The former chief executive of the National Kidney
Foundation, TT Durai, has been charged with intent to mislead and
deceive the organisation.
Three former board members of the old NKF were also charged, along
with a former assistant manager of the NKF's purchasing
department.
The charges come five months after a report by auditing firm KPMG,
which revealed questionable practices by the old NKF.
It was a media scramble as Durai drove up to the Subordinate
Courts.
Accompanied by his older brother, 57-year-old Durai declined to
speak to reporters and marched into the courthouse to face two
counts of corruption.
In the first charge, Durai is alleged to have deceived the NKF by
submitting false invoices claiming that interior design consultancy
services were rendered to various kidney dialysis centres in
2003.
Payment amounted to S$20,000 but no such services were
provided.
The second charge alleges that Durai deceived the NKF in September
2003 by submitting another invoice for S$5,000 to a company,
DecisionOne International, for consultancy work to hire a senior
manager.
Again, no such services were rendered.
Durai displayed no emotion when the charges were read to him.
If convicted on each charge, he could be fined a maximum of
S$100,000, or jailed for up to five years, or both.
Durai was charged along with four others connected with the old
NKF.
A previously unknown figure in the NKF saga was the former
assistant manager of the NKF's purchasing department, Ragini
Vijayalingam.
The 43-year-old was slapped with 11 charges.
Between 2003 and 2005, she is said to have received cash and gifts
amounting to more than S$10,000 from a medical supplies company for
helping it to secure contracts and future business dealings with
NKF.
Former board member Matilda Chua faces two fraud charges.
Accompanied by her mother to court, she is accused of having
falsified the accounts of Global Net Relations, of which she was a
director.
The offences, involving a total of S$300,000, are alleged to have
taken place in December 2001 and December 2002.
She allegedly classified an amount of S$150,000 as an advisory fee
in December 2001 to one Yee Lee Fen.
But the sum was said to have been a discount given by GNR to Seah
Holdings for the purchase of 9.875 million Wizoffice.Com shares
from GNR.
Then, in December 2002, Chua allegedly falsely classified S$150,000
as a loan repayment in the accounts of Global Net Relations.
For each charge, Chua could be jailed for up to seven years, fined,
or both.
Bail was set at S$20,000 for Chua and Ragini; Durai, on the other
hand, was ordered to post a bail of S$50,000.
Only the passports of these three accused have been
impounded.
Durai, Ragini and Chua were investigated by the Corrupt Practices
Investigation Bureau.
The other two accused are former NKF Board chairman Richard Yong
Kun Da and treasurer Loo Say San.
Each faces one charge under the Companies Act for allegedly failing
to exercise reasonable diligence as NKF directors.
According to the charge sheet, that failure caused the NKF to
excessively pay Forte Systems, which is owned by Pharis Aboobacker,
who is believed to be a friend of Durai.
In September 2001, the former NKF signed a S$4.29 million agreement
with Forte Systems to provide a new enterprise resource management
system.
The old NKF made payments, even though Forte Systems was said to
have failed to deliver some services.
If found guilty, they face a maximum fine of S$5,000 or up to a
year in jail.
The charges come months after a 300-page KPMG report last year
highlighted questionable practices by the old NKF.
Investigations had been carried out by the Commercial Affairs
Department and the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau.
Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan had said then that anyone found to
have broken the law would be prosecuted.
The cases will be mentioned again on April 25.
In a statement, the CPIB says it will not be filing further charges
against Durai, Chua and Ragini.
But it did not rule out further investigations should fresh
evidence arise.
CPIB also said it may charge other individuals who may have
committed various offences discovered in the course of its
investigation.
Durai is represented by Christine Sekhon from Sant & Singh
Partnership.
Lawyer Cheah Kok Lim from Ang & Partners will act for Chua,
while lawyer Chia Boon Teck from KhattarWong will be representing
Richard Yong and Loo Say San.
Ragini said in court that she would be appointing a lawyer soon. -
CNA /ct
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