Singapore Kitchen executives face fraud and falsification charges

The chief executive of Singapore Kitchen Equipment (SKE) and one of its senior managers have been charged over an alleged scheme involving the falsification of payment records worth around S$1.4 million, as reported by multiple media reports.

SKE announced that chief executive and executive director Sally Chua Chwee Choo and senior manager Charlene Koh Sai Eng were charged on Tuesday following investigations by Singapore's Commercial Affairs Department (CAD).

Former chief financial officer Chow Mei Ling, who left the company in 2021, has also been charged.

The three women each face one charge of fraud by false representation and one charge of falsification of accounts. Chow faces an additional 10 charges, including forgery and offences under the Securities and Futures Act.

Alleged conspiracy

According to the Singapore Police Force, the trio allegedly conspired between February and March 2021 to mislead SKE's auditor, BDO, about bonus payments made by the company's operating subsidiary, Q'son Kitchen Equipment.

Investigators claim they falsely represented that bonuses totalling about S$740,000 had been paid to Q'son employees in January 2020.

Police further alleged that more than 100 payment vouchers were falsified to create the appearance that the bonuses had been paid when they had not.

Accounting concerns

The charges stem from a wider investigation into eight payments worth about S$1.4 million.

Chow is accused of deliberately omitting the payments from Q'son's accounts for the 2018 and 2019 financial years before allegedly making false entries to include them in the company's 2020 accounts.

Police said that following the alleged falsification of accounts, Singapore Kitchen Equipment purportedly made false statements about its profitability in its financial statements.

Earlier investigation

The case has its roots in a June 2023 CAD investigation into potential cheating offences.

The probe followed a review by law firm Rajah & Tann involving eight payments totalling S$1.4 million made by SKE's majority shareholder, QKE Holdings, on behalf of Q'son Kitchen Equipment.

According to the review, certain employees of QKE altered documents without instructions from, and knowledge and/or approval of the executive directors.

Staying in post

Despite the charges, Chua and Koh will continue in their current roles.

SKE said both executives will remain in their respective positions "pending further developments".

The company added that its nominating committee and board, excluding Chua and her husband Alan Lee, who co-founded SKE, believe it is in "the best interest of the company" for the pair to remain in their positions.

Chua and Koh are currently on bail and are seeking legal advice.

Court date

Singapore Kitchen Equipment owns and operates Q'son Kitchen Equipment, a manufacturer and service provider of commercial kitchen systems and equipment.

SKE shares last traded at S$0.059 before the counter was suspended in August 2021.

The three women are due back in court on 1 July.

Under Singapore law, fraud by false representation carries a maximum penalty of 20 years' imprisonment, a fine, or both. 

Falsification of accounts carries a maximum sentence of 10 years' imprisonment, a fine, or both.