In May 2011, WP won the five-member Aljunied GRC in that year's General Election and retained its single seat of Hougang – this was the first time an opposition party had won a GRC.
WP formed the Aljunied-Hougang Town Council, and FM Solutions and Services (FMSS) was set up and hired as the town council's managing agent.
After WP won the single seat of Punggol East in a by-election in 2013, it folded it into its existing town council and the entity was renamed the Aljunied-Hougang-Punggol East Town Council (AHPETC).
Months later, People's Action Party MPs questioned WP during a parliamentary debate about a possible conflict of interest. This was because AHPETC's managing agent, FMSS, was owned by WP supporters.
In February 2015, the Auditor-General's Office audited AHPETC and found lapses in governance and compliance, including the fact that FMSS owner, the late Danny Loh, was the secretary of the town council, with the power to co-sign cheques, while his wife, How Weng Fan, was the general manager of AHPETC.
WP lost Punggol East to the PAP in the September 2015 General Election, and the town council was named AHTC again.
In November 2015, the Court of Appeal ordered AHTC to appoint accountants to fix lapses found by the Auditor-General's Office.
Accounting firm KPMG ran an audit and found what it termed "improper payments" worth over S$33.7 million paid to FMSS and its subsidiary FM Solutions and Integrated Services (FMSI).
In February 2017, AHTC appointed an independent panel to review the findings of the report.
On behalf of AHTC, the independent panel filed a civil suit against the three WP MPs - Ms Sylvia Lim, Mr Low Thia Khiang and Mr Pritam Singh - to claim the money back.
Shortly after, Pasir Ris-Punggol Town Council also filed a separate suit against the three WP leaders, for losses allegedly incurred while WP ran Punggol East constituency.
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WP formed the Aljunied-Hougang Town Council, and FM Solutions and Services (FMSS) was set up and hired as the town council's managing agent.
After WP won the single seat of Punggol East in a by-election in 2013, it folded it into its existing town council and the entity was renamed the Aljunied-Hougang-Punggol East Town Council (AHPETC).
Months later, People's Action Party MPs questioned WP during a parliamentary debate about a possible conflict of interest. This was because AHPETC's managing agent, FMSS, was owned by WP supporters.
In February 2015, the Auditor-General's Office audited AHPETC and found lapses in governance and compliance, including the fact that FMSS owner, the late Danny Loh, was the secretary of the town council, with the power to co-sign cheques, while his wife, How Weng Fan, was the general manager of AHPETC.
WP lost Punggol East to the PAP in the September 2015 General Election, and the town council was named AHTC again.
In November 2015, the Court of Appeal ordered AHTC to appoint accountants to fix lapses found by the Auditor-General's Office.
Accounting firm KPMG ran an audit and found what it termed "improper payments" worth over S$33.7 million paid to FMSS and its subsidiary FM Solutions and Integrated Services (FMSI).
In February 2017, AHTC appointed an independent panel to review the findings of the report.
On behalf of AHTC, the independent panel filed a civil suit against the three WP MPs - Ms Sylvia Lim, Mr Low Thia Khiang and Mr Pritam Singh - to claim the money back.
Shortly after, Pasir Ris-Punggol Town Council also filed a separate suit against the three WP leaders, for losses allegedly incurred while WP ran Punggol East constituency.
Continue reading...