Audit manager Foong Ai Fang testifies that Foong Daw Ching never communicated contents of his many meetings with CHC to her.
CN PHOTO: Michael Chan.
Throughout this afternoon’s session, the court was shown numerous documents involving former Baker Tilly managing partner Foong Daw Ching giving advice or being asked for advice on many audit matters that the defendants were concerned about.
Audit manager Foong Ai Fang, however, denied any knowledge of the contents of these documents and discussions, although she was the audit manager.
Foong was responding to questions posed by defense counsel Kannan Ramesh this afternoon, who sought to establish that every aspect of the Xtron bond agreement—from disclosure matters to the proper accounting treatment, valuation and redemption for both the original and amended Xtron bonds—had been made known to Baker Tilly and cleared by them.
The documents demonstrated that when Baker Tilly auditors probed about various issues, the defendants were open to engage and addressed all their queries and concerns.
The court also saw that there was substantive internal correspondence between her and engagement partner Tiang Yii with regards to the soundness of the bonds. However, like Tiang, she was very cautious when testifying about the degree of her involvement in the Xtron bond transactions. One email showed that Tiang, who had been concerned about matters on authorisation of the investment and proper utilization of the building fund monies, had instructed Foong to investigate further. Specifically, Foong had been asked to obtain proof of purchase, Board of Directors’ resolution as well as “any documents relating to the bond transactions” from former CHC finance manager Serina Wee.
However, Foong denied it was an “investigation”. “She just asked me to get more document, not investigation,” Foong said. When asked again, she said, “It’s find out, not investigation.” She finally agreed that they were “reviewing the investments carefully.”
Another email showed a particularly lengthy response from Foong to Wee on valuation matters pertaining to the amended bond subscription agreement, starkly contrasting with her previous evidence that she did not know about the bond details.
She did, however, concede to Ramesh that the redemption of the bonds was flagged out as a significant issue in the audit plan, and that Baker Tilly had to ensure accuracy of the corresponding accounting treatment in CHC’s books before signing off.
Court resumes at 9.30am tomorrow.
中文报道 – CHC审讯：审计经理所宣称的毫不知情受到辩方挑战
