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Former Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong’s son, Goh Jin Hian, resigned as an independent director of Cordlife Group just days after the umbilical cord blood banking firm publicly endorsed him.
Dr. Goh has been dominating the headlines since it was announced that Inter-Pacific Petroleum (IPP) creditors were considering taking legal action against him for violating the director’s duties he owed to the now-closed oil and gas company. Dr. Goh resigned from IPP in August last year, four days after the firm applied for judicial discharge.
Receivers acting on behalf of IPP announced earlier this month that they are suing Dr. Goh for losses of around S $ 212 million that they claim were caused by his negligence.
Three days after the legal action was announced, Cordlife Group revealed that Dr. Goh had stepped down as president in light of the IPP lawsuit. The company said Dr. Goh will step down “to spend more time on his personal affairs” and that its nominating committee (NC) and board saw fit to allow legal proceedings to run their course.
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He said that Dr. Goh, however, will remain with the firm as an independent director, as the NC and the board believe that he “has the right character and integrity to continue as an independent director.”
Stating that it is best for Cordlife that Dr. Goh remain an independent director given his qualifications, knowledge and experience, the firm added that the removal of his role as president will allow him to devote sufficient time and attention to the affairs of the company in the new role.
Ten days after endorsing Dr. Goh, Cordlife announced that the physician-entrepreneur had resigned as an independent director with immediate effect on Thursday night (October 15).
That same day, Dr. Goh also resigned as chairman of New Silkroutes Group just two weeks after taking office amid a police investigation into the main board-listed investment firm.
The police investigation against NSG is not related to IPP’s lawsuit against Dr. Goh. The Department of Commercial Affairs (CAD) launched an investigation against NSG last month for a possible securities violation.
NSG said it understands the alleged offense to be bogus trading and market manipulation pursuant to Section 197 of the Securities and Futures Act in light of past share buybacks and acquisitions.
Both Dr. Goh, who was NSG CEO and CEO until he took office as president on October 1, and NSG CFO William Teo were involved in the CAD investigation. NSG revealed that both men’s passports were confiscated by CAD, although neither person was arrested or charged.
Just two weeks ago, NSG said it had no plans to suspend Dr. Goh and Mr. Teo from their duties and made special mention of Dr. Goh’s contributions to the company. Dr. Goh’s transition from CEO and president of the company also went according to plan despite the investigation.
In Singapore Exchange filings held on Thursday night (October 15), NSG revealed that both Dr. Goh and Mr. Teo have resigned from their positions with immediate effect. He said Dr. Goh resigned “to devote more time to his personal affairs,” while Mr. Teo resigned “to focus on personal matters and pursue other interests.”
Earlier on Thursday, the firm announced that its auditor Deloitte & Touche had issued a disclaimer of opinion on the group’s financial statements for the financial year ended June 30.
On August 27, the firm reported that it closed the fourth quarter on June 30 with a net loss of US $ 2.28 million compared to a gain of US $ 227,000 registered in the same quarter of the previous year. It reported an annual loss of US $ 1.95 million compared to a previous loss of US $ 684,000.
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