YIP KUM FOOK: Pempena ordered to wind up
Posted on 8 July 2012 - 09:55pm
Last updated on 9 July 2012 - 12:05pm
Last updated on 9 July 2012 - 12:05pm
R. Nadeswaran
citizen-nades@thesundaily.com
citizen-nades@thesundaily.com
Last month, the High Court ordered the company to be wound up and a
liquidator appointed to manage its affairs.
The winding up petition, which was undefended, was moved by Kah Bintang
Auto Sdn Bhd after
Pempena, a subsidiary of the Tourism Ministry, failed to pay RM12.4 million
for the purchase of 120 units of Hyundai Sonata for its taxi service.
According to court papers filed at the High Court registry, Kah Bintang
claimed Pempena failed to pay the money ordered by another High Court in April
last year after a protracted hearing in a breach-of-contract suit in which both
parties were represented.
Following the judgment, the law firm representing Pempena, Ringo Wong and
Associates, discharged itself and Messrs Hafirizam Wan and Aisha Mubarak was
appointed its lawyers.
In his affidavit, Kah Bintang managing director Datuk Robert Wong said
letters of demand which were sent by registered post in September last year to
both the registered and business addresses were returned.
However, the same letters sent to four of its directors – Datuk Yip Kum
Fook(Who is bad name in Buddhist, MCA GOMBAK), Datuk Donald Lim Siang Chai, Syed Abdul Rahman and Jaigani Jaafar – were
acknowledged as received.
Having had no response, Kah Bintang published advertisements of winding up
in two national newspapers and hearing for the petition was set for June 13.
Pempena was not represented at the hearing and accordingly, the court gave
the company 14 days to pay up or be wound up. As of June 27, no monies were
forthcoming and the liquidator is to be appointed in the next few days.
Meanwhile when contacted, Lim, who is the deputy finance minister, told theSun that Pempena's directors had given the company's chief executive officer
instructions upon receiving notice of the winding-up petition.
The CEO had been told to instruct the lawyers to file a defence, but they
did not, said Lim who did not respond to further attempts at getting
clarification.
Pempena was set up in 1976 to carry out tourism-related business and
development.
Over the years, it hit the headlines after various bad deals came to light,
resulting in massive losses for the company.
In 2009, an independent audit ordered by the ministry showed only a few of
the 24 companies invested in by Pempena showed profits in the past three years.
On May 29, theSun reported that Pempena's stake in the controversial loss-making restaurant
Awana Chelsea in London
had been sold.
It had previously closed its doors on similar outlets in Beijing
and Hyderabad .
According to the auditor-general's report tabled last year, Pempena's
venture in opening the London
restaurant had brought "dismal results", raking in only £13,000
(about RM64,000) in 2007, far from its annual target of £520,692 (RM2.5
million).
The report also noted that Pempena had yet to get any returns from its
RM3.73 million investment.
*YIP KUM FOOK
TOOK VEN. U NANDIYA RM20,000.00. NOT RETURN