Judge questions courts' role in appointment of accountants Print Share on facebookShare on twitter Share on email
Source
Straits Times
Date
05 May 2015
AuthorWalter Sim
JUSTICE Quentin Loh yesterday questioned the need for the courts to be involved in the appointment of independent accountants to the town council run by the Workers' Party.
The proposed accountants are partners of major accounting firm PwC, Mr Ong Chao Choon and Mr Chan Kheng Tek, who he said are experienced professionals who can make their own judgment call.
This was among the questions he raised to test the strength of the legal arguments made by the Ministry of National Development (MND) in its application for independent accountants to be appointed to the Aljunied-Hougang-Punggol East Town Council (AHPETC).
Responding, the MND argued that having the court act as an arbiter in the appointment will prevent an impasse should disagreements arise. Also, one of the conditions for the release of $14 million of grants to AHPETC was "payment controls", said the deputy chief counsel for litigation at the Attorney-General's Chambers, Ms Aurill Kam, who is arguing the case for the MND.
In its court application, the MND wants the independent accountants to co-sign payments above $20,000 taken from the grants, which must also be kept in a separate account.
Said Ms Kam: "A court-appointed officer to carry out that control is in the interest of all parties. If there are issues... there is an independent party - the court."
She cited a hypothetical example of an instance in which the accountant decides not to sign off on a specific payment, which both the defendant and MND might find unreasonable. "There is no way to resolve that implementation difficulty, and it also wouldn't be in the interests of the town council or residents."
As the independent accountants will be officers of the court, they will be empowered to compel AHPETC and its managing agent, FM Solutions and Services, to produce documents, so long as permission has been sought and granted by the judge. The judge may also ask for more information if the evidence provided is deemed insufficient, she said.
What if the accountants discover wrongdoing and suggest taking legal action, Justice Loh asked.
Ms Kam replied they may then "step in the shoes" of the town council to sue the relevant third parties who owe money, or who have received wrongful payments.
"This is an arrangement that works and ensures justice for all parties concerned," she added.