WP leaders settle lawsuits with AHTC & STC following mediation
The long-running lawsuit between Workers’ Party (WP) leaders and two town councils appears to be close to an end after all parties agreed to settle.
This was revealed in a joint statement on Wednesday (24 July) issued by the WP leaders, Aljunied-Hougang Town Council (AHTC) and Sengkang Town Council (STC).
Source: Khoo Ee Hoon on Facebook and Google Maps
With this resolution, all sides will drop their claims for costs and damages.
Mediation held between WP leaders, AHTC & STC
The statement, posted on Facebook, named five WP leaders, all of whom are or were AHTC town councillors:
- Mr Pritam Singh, Leader of the Opposition, WP secretary-general and Aljunied MP
- Ms Sylvia Lim, WP chairperson and Aljunied MP
- Mr Low Thia Khiang, WP Central Executive Committee member and former Aljunied MP
- Mr Kenneth Foo, WP deputy organising secretary
- Mr Chua Zhi Hon
It said a mediation was held between the five town councillors, AHTC and STC at the Singapore International Mediation Centre.
Source: Pritam Singh on Facebook
WP, AHTC & STC settle on ‘drop hands basis’
Following the mediation, all parties agreed to settle the respective lawsuits on a “drop hands basis”.
That means AHTC and STC will drop their claims for damages and costs against the five town councillors.
The five town councillors would also drop their claims for costs against the two town councils.
All sides will bear their own costs.
The statement didn’t provide any further details on the settlement.
Saga started seven years ago
The saga started some seven years ago, when an independent panel appointed by AHTC filed a civil suit against Mr Singh, Ms Lim and Mr Low in 2017 for alleged misuse of town council funds.
At the time, the trio were Aljunied MPs.
Source: The Workers’ Party on Facebook
The lawsuit attempted to claim back S$33.7 million of “improper payments” allegedly paid out to FM Solutions & Services Pte Ltd (FMSS) and FM Solutions & Integrated Services (FMSI).
The two entities were AHTC’s former managing agent and its subsidiary.
Soon after, Pasir Ris-Punggol Town Council filed a separate suit against the three WP leaders.
This was over losses allegedly incurred by Punggol East Single-Member Constituency (SMC) when WP ran it from 2013 to 2015. Punggol East was won back by the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) in the 2015 General Election (GE2015) and subsumed into Pasir Ris-Punggol Group Representation Constituency (GRC) thereafter.
When Sengkang GRC was won by WP in GE2020, STC took over the case as Punggol East was subsumed into Sengkang GRC before that.
The court allowed both lawsuits brought about by AHTC and STC to be heard together.
Court of Appeal overturns most liabilities on appeal
In October 2019, the three then MPs, together with Mr Foo and Mr Chua, were found liable for letting improper payments slide.
AHTC Trial: Workers Party Trio Found Guilty, May Face Bankruptcy If They Can’t Pay Up
After an appeal, the Court of Appeal overturned this judgement in November 2022 and July 2023, but found that the town councillors were negligent in some aspects.
Thus, they were liable for damages to AHTC and STC.
It was also ruled that WP leaders could recover some legal costs from the two town councils since they had been largely successful in their appeals.
Damages likely difficult to determine: Court
However, the court also mentioned that it would likely be difficult to determine the amount of damages owed by each party to the other parties.
Even if an amount is decided upon by the court, the defendants could still have appealed the ruling.
Thus, all parties were facing a lengthy continuation to the saga.
Additionally, if the WP MPs were unable to pay the damages, AHTC could’ve started bankruptcy proceedings against them.
If the MPs were declared bankrupt, they would’ve immediately lost their seats and been disallowed from running for any future elections until they were discharged from bankruptcy.
With the recent settlement, such a situation appears to have been avoided.
Also read: Court Clears Pritam Singh In AHTC Case, Sylvia Lim & Low Thia Khiang Still Liable
Court Clears Pritam Singh In AHTC Case, Sylvia Lim & Low Thia Khiang Still Liable
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Featured image adapted from Pritam Singh on Facebook, Khoo Ee Hoon on Facebook and Google Maps.
