FORMER National Kidney Foundation (NKF) director Matilda Chua faced court yesterday on the first day of her trial on three criminal charges. With Chua were Seah Say Yoon, 69, who faces three charges, and his son, former WizOffice chief executive Seah Chin Yew, 33, who faces two charges. All three pleaded not guilty on all counts. The charges are not related to the scandal that rocked the old NKF, but reports have suggested that Chua's alleged offences came to light when the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) started examining her role in the charity.
Chua faces one charge of allegedly authorising the sale of 9.875 million WizOffice shares by her call-centre company Global Net Relations (GNR) in December 2001 to real-estate company Seah Holdings Pte Ltd at a higher price than the actual transaction price. The shares were sold for 4.5 cents each when the actual transaction price was just three cents. If found guilty, she could be fined up to $250,000 or jailed up to seven years, or both.
Chua is also alleged to have falsely classified $150,000 as an advisory fee paid to a Yee Lee Fen, said to be a close friend of Seah Chin Yew, in the accounts of GNR. She also faces a charge of later re-classifying the same amount as repayment of a loan to Seah Chin Yew. She could be fined, jailed up to seven years, or both, if found guilty for each offence.
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