Latest news with #NgYuZhi
Straits Times
2 days ago
- Business
- Straits Times
Cathay Cineplexes ropes in restructuring specialist as more payment demands pile up
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox Cathay Cineplexes' parent company mm2 Asia also announced key changes to board and leadership team. SINGAPORE - Cathay Cineplexes has received additional letters concerning outstanding rent, its parent company mm2 Asia announced in bourse filings on July 29, alongside key changes to its board and leadership team. This follows an earlier update on July 17, when the entertainment group said it was evaluating all available options to address its financial challenges including the possible winding up of the cinema chain. In its latest statement, mm2 Asia informed shareholders that Cathay Cineplexes (CCPL) received a legal claim on July 28. The claim, dated July 25, was filed in the High Court of Singapore by Lendlease Retail Investments, the former real estate investment trust (Reit) manager for CCPL's cinema lease at Jem. That role has since been assumed by DBS Trustee acting in its capacity as trustee of Lendlease Global Commercial Reit. The claim relates to outstanding rental and other payments owed by CCPL under its lease at Jem, incurred before the change in Reit manager. According to the filing, the claimant is seeking payment of $1.98 million in rent up to March 31, 2022. In addition, the claimant is asking for interest on the overdue amounts at a contractual rate of 1 per cent per month, calculated daily, amounting to $1.66 million as at Jul 25. The claim also includes legal costs and any other relief the court deems appropriate. Additionally, CCPL has received a letter of demand dated July 29 from Resorts Concept, the licensor of its premises at E!Hub@Downtown East. The letter demands payment of licence fees, service charges, utilities, interest and related charges totalling $580,000. The board of CCPL said it is actively engaged in discussions with Resorts Concept to resolve the outstanding arrears. It is understood that CCPL is currently obtaining legal advice on both matters. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Business MAS keeps Singapore dollar policy unchanged amid US tariff risks to economy World Tsunami hits Russia's Far East after powerful earthquake; Japan on alert Singapore Grace Fu apologises for Tanjong Katong sinkhole, says road may stay closed for a few more days Business No clarity yet on baseline or pharmaceutical tariffs with US: DPM Gan Opinion Nobel Prize? Maybe not, but give Asean credit for Cambodia-Thailand ceasefire Asia Fragile Cambodia-Thailand truce faces challenges on day one Singapore Facts and myths intersect at the National Museum's new glass rotunda installation Singapore Liquidators score victory to recoup over $900 million from alleged scammer Ng Yu Zhi's associates mm2 said it is also seeking its own legal advice in relation to the matters and will make further announcements as and when there are material developments. New leadership team Separately, mm2 announced key changes to its board and leadership team following a series of resignations, retirement and new appointments. It said these changes reinforce its 'commitment to strategic financial and operational restructuring to safeguard its future'. In view of the current cinema-related creditor negotiations and prolonged financial challenges stemming from the pandemic, mm2 is strengthening its management team and bringing Ang Chiang Meng on board as chief restructuring officer as of Aug 1. He will also join the mm2 board as a non-independent executive director. Mr Ang is co-founder and managing partner of Argile Partners, a regional consultancy firm, and executive director of R&O Company, specialising in corporate and debt restructuring. mm2 said he is 'uniquely qualified' to lead mm2's debt management and operational reorganisation with decades of cross-border experience. 'His credentials as a senior accredited director, chartered valuer and restructuring expert will be pivotal in this transition,' it added. At the same time, Chang Long Jong, mm2's current chief executive officer since April 2017, will retire on Sept 1. The former MediaCorp deputy CEO played a key role in expanding mm2 Asia's footprint in the regional entertainment industry. Executive chairman Melvin Ang will assume interim CEO responsibilities while the board conducts a formal search for a permanent successor. Meanwhile, Jack Chia will resign as a non-executive and non-independent director of the company effective July 31, and will also cease to be a member of the audit committee following his departure. Gary Goh has been appointed managing director of mm2 Entertainment, succeeding chief content officer Ng Say Yong, who will step down from his current role on Aug 31. Mr Ng will transition to the role of chief content adviser, where he will focus on content development. Following these changes, mm2's board of directors will comprise Melvin Ang as executive chairman, Ang Chiang Meng as executive director, Lai Hock Meng as lead independent director, Tan Khee Giap and Tan Ching Yee as independent directors, and Choo Kee Siong as a non-executive director.
Straits Times
3 days ago
- Politics
- Straits Times
Explainer-How many Palestinians has Israel's Gaza offensive killed?
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox Palestinian health authorities say Israel's ground and air campaign against Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip has killed more than 60,000 people, with nearly a third of the dead under the age of 18. After a two-month ceasefire earlier this year, Israel resumed an all-out air and ground campaign against Hamas in March. Palestinian health officials say more than 8,500 have been killed since then. The war began on Oct. 7, 2023 when Hamas militants stormed across the border into Israeli communities. Israel says the militants killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took 251 people into captivity in Gaza. A new update released by the Palestinian Ministry of Health on Tuesday put the number of those killed in Gaza during the war at 60,034 people, ranging from a newborn baby to a 110-year-old. Of those, 18,592 or 30.8% were under 18. The official Palestinian Health Ministry death toll dwarfs those killed in previous bouts of fighting between Israelis and Palestinians in Gaza since 2005, according to data from Israeli human rights organisation B'Tselem. An international monitoring group warned on Tuesday a worst-case scenario of famine is now unfolding in Gaza and immediate action is needed to avoid widespread death. This explainer examines how the Palestinian toll is calculated, how reliable it is, the breakdown of civilians and fighters killed and what each side says. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Business No clarity yet on baseline or pharmaceutical tariffs with US: DPM Gan Singapore Grace Fu apologises for Tanjong Katong sinkhole, says road may stay closed for a few more days Singapore Terrorism threat in Singapore remains high, driven by events like Israeli-Palestinian conflict: ISD Singapore Liquidators score victory to recoup over $900 million from alleged scammer Ng Yu Zhi's associates Singapore Man on trial for raping woman who hired him to repair lights in her flat Sport IOC president Kirsty Coventry a 'huge supporter' of Singapore Singapore Child and firefighter among 7 taken to hospital after fire breaks out in Toa Payoh flat Singapore S'pore can and must meaningfully apply tech like AI in a way that creates jobs for locals: PM Wong HOW DO GAZA HEALTH AUTHORITIES CALCULATE THE DEATH TOLL? In the first months of the war, death tolls were calculated simply by counting bodies that arrived in hospitals and data included names and identity numbers for most of those killed. In May 2024, the ministry included unidentified bodies, which accounted for nearly a third of the overall toll. However, since October 2024, it has only included identified bodies. A Reuters examination in March of an earlier Gaza Health Ministry list of those killed showed that more than 1,200 families were completely wiped out, including one family of 14 people. IS THE GAZA DEATH TOLL COMPREHENSIVE? The numbers do not necessarily reflect all victims, as the Palestinian Health Ministry estimates several thousand bodies are under rubble. Official Palestinian tallies of direct deaths in the Gaza war likely undercounted the number of casualties by around 40% in the first nine months of the war as Gaza's healthcare infrastructure unravelled, according to a peer-reviewed study published in The Lancet journal in January. The U.N. human rights office also says the Palestinian authorities' figure is probably an undercount. The deaths the U.N. has verified up to March this year show that nearly 70% were women and children. HOW CREDIBLE IS THE GAZA DEATH TOLL? Pre-war Gaza had robust population statistics and better health information systems than in most Middle East countries, public health experts told Reuters. The U.N. often cites the ministry's death figures and the World Health Organization has voiced full confidence in them. DOES HAMAS CONTROL THE FIGURES? While Hamas has run Gaza since 2007, the enclave's Health Ministry also answers to the overall Palestinian Authority ministry in Ramallah in the West Bank. Gaza's Hamas-run government has paid the salaries of all those hired in public departments since 2007, including in the Health Ministry. The Palestinian Authority pays the salaries of those hired before then. WHAT DOES ISRAEL SAY? Israeli officials have said previously that the death toll figures are suspect because of Hamas' control over government in Gaza and are manipulated. The government did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the Palestinian health authorities' toll passing 60,000. The Israeli military says 454 of its soldiers were killed in combat, and 2,840 others wounded since its Gaza ground operation began on Oct. 27, 2023. The Israeli military also says it goes to great lengths to avoid civilian casualties. It says Hamas uses Gaza's civilians as human shields by operating within densely populated areas, humanitarian zones, schools and hospitals, which Hamas denies. HOW MANY OF THE DEAD ARE FIGHTERS? The Palestinian Health Ministry figures do not differentiate between civilians and Hamas combatants, who do not wear formal uniform or carry separate identification. The Israeli military said in January 2025 it had killed nearly 20,000 Hamas fighters. It has not provided an update since. Such estimates are reached through a combination of counting bodies on the battlefield, intercepts of Hamas communications and intelligence assessments of personnel in targets that were destroyed. Hamas has said Israeli estimates of its losses are exaggerated, without saying how many of its fighters have been killed. REUTERS
Straits Times
3 days ago
- Straits Times
Two men to be charged for allegedly scamming victims by impersonating government officials
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox The men, aged 30 and 37, are believed to be accomplices to a scam syndicate. SINGAPORE - Two men will be charged in court on July 30 for allegedly scamming victims of money by impersonating government officials. The men, aged 30 and 37, are believed to be accomplices to a scam syndicate, said the police on July 29. They were arrested on July 28. The police were first alerted to a case on May 17, in which a victim lost more than $43,000 to the 30-year-old man. The man, who said he was from the Monetary Authority of Singapore, told the victim that she had been implicated in an offence and had to hand the money over for investigative purposes. Preliminary investigations showed that the scammer collected the money on the behalf of a syndicate, and handed it over to an unknown person. On a separate occasion, he had also collected $47,000 in cash from another victim and passed the money to the 37-year-old man. The cash was recovered when the pair was arrested. The police believe that the men are involved in other similar cases. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Grace Fu apologises for Tanjong Katong sinkhole, says road may stay closed for a few more days Singapore Terrorism threat in Singapore remains high, driven by events like Israeli-Palestinian conflict: ISD Singapore Liquidators score victory to recoup over $900 million from alleged scammer Ng Yu Zhi's associates Singapore Man on trial for raping woman who hired him to repair lights in her flat Sport IOC president Kirsty Coventry a 'huge supporter' of Singapore Singapore 7, including child and firefighter, taken to hospital after fire breaks out in Toa Payoh flat Singapore S'pore can and must meaningfully apply tech like AI in a way that creates jobs for locals: PM Wong Singapore Doctor who forged certificates for aesthetic procedures gets 4 months' jail The duo will be charged with the offence of abetment by conspiracy to assist another to retain benefits from criminal conduct. If found guilty, they may be jailed for up to 10 years, fined up to $500,000, or both. The police said they take a serious stance against those involved in scams, and will punish perpetrators according to the law, and reminded the public to never transfer money or any valuables to people not known to them.
CNA
3 days ago
- Business
- CNA
S$1.5b nickel fraud: Court allows liquidators to claw back bonuses, commissions from Ponzi scheme's ex-staff
SINGAPORE: The High Court on Tuesday (Jul 29) allowed liquidators to claw back bonuses, commissions and other payments from former employees of the Envy group of companies that allegedly perpetuated a S$1.5 billion (US$1.16 billion) Ponzi scheme involving bogus nickel trading. The court found two directors liable for about S$842 million, an administrative executive liable for S$1.9 million, and six employees liable for about S$42 million in total. The judge said the billion-dollar fraud was perpetuated on "all and sundry, from the common man on the street to sophisticated investors who were seduced by the apparent attractive returns". The alleged mastermind of the scheme, Ng Yu Zhi, founded the Envy group of companies and is separately on trial for dozens of criminal charges including forgery, cheating and criminal breach of trust. However, he declared bankruptcy after a partial judgment for about S$416.4 million and US$17.6 million was obtained against him. The three Envy companies - Envy Asset Management, Envy Management Holdings and Envy Global Trading - and those firms' three liquidators then turned to Ng's former employees in a bid to claw back money. Judicial Commissioner Mohamed Faizal said the purported nickel trading was non-existent. The Envy companies never transacted with an Australian company known as Poseidon Nickel to purchase London Metal Exchange Grade Metal, nor did they sell the nickel to any third-party buyers. The trading was a Ponzi scheme propped up by various forgeries and false representations to the investors, said the judge, and none of the money from investors was used to buy nickel. Instead, the funds were transferred to Ng, paid as directors' fees to Ng and another director Ms Lee Si Ye, paid as commissions, profit-sharing payments, referral fees or other payments to various employees, paid as "profits" in excess of invested principal to investors, or transferred or paid to related entities such as other companies owned by the Envy companies. TWO DIRECTORS FOUND LIABLE FOR MILLIONS OF DOLLARS The High Court on Tuesday issued two lengthy judgments on the case. First, it found two directors of the Envy companies jointly liable for total sums of S$593 million, US$192 million and 880,000 euro (US$1.02 million). This amounts to about S$842 million. This sum corresponds to the total amount of money owed by the insolvent Envy companies to investors. Ms Lee, a trained accountant who came to know Ng during the course of her previous job as an auditor, was found fully liable for the entire sum. The second director, Envy's head of trading Mr Ju Xiao, was found liable for up to 40 per cent of the same sum. The court also found administrative executive and client support associate Mr Cheong Ming Feng, who conveyed Ng's instructions to another party to forge documents, liable for S$1.92 million. Ng was the founder of the Envy companies and held at least 80 to 90 per cent of the ordinary shares of the companies. Ms Lee held the remaining 10 to 20 per cent of the ordinary shares. During her employment with the Envy companies, she was directly responsible and had oversight over the Envy companies' "back-office functions". These included accounting, updating of records of the flow of funds between the companies and investors and calculation of commission, salaries, bonuses and profit shares to be paid to employees. The judge said Ms Lee clearly had some knowledge of the "various discrete aspects" of Ng's fraudulent behaviour. ShHe was "grossly derelict" in her duties and failed to make the sort of inquiries that any director should have made. However, there was also evidence that she was being duped by Ng, as she had numerous family members invest money in the purported nickel trading. There was also evidence of Ng reassuring her that the business was legitimate. The court found that Mr Ju was aware of, or chose to be "wilfully blind" about the hollow nature of the nickel trading. He forged four contracts and coordinated with Ng on what details were required, and knew that the purported trading was amiss. Having experience in commodities and metal trading, he conceded that he did not personally invest in the trading as the returns seemed "too high", the court said. The administrative executive, Mr Cheong, knew that he was creating forgeries, which were being circulated to internal employees and external investors, the court found. However, he did not know that such actions were to prop up a non-existent scheme. The court found that he possessed "a rather rudimentary understanding" of the business, and the power differential was apparent from his correspondence with Ng, as Mr Cheong did what he was told. Mr Cheong had invested in the nickel trading personally, and even paid investors out of his own pocket to keep the business going when Ng was arrested. The court found only Mr Ju liable for fraudulent trading, as he was a knowing party to the Ponzi scheme or at least chose to be wilfully blind about its nature. While Ms Lee and Mr Cheong acted dishonestly or inappropriately in some way and fell "far short" of the standards required of them in their roles, neither of them knew that the nickel trading was a Ponzi scheme. PAYMENTS TO OTHER EMPLOYEES CAN BE CLAWED BACK The plaintiffs sued for different types of payments that had been given to the trio to be clawed back. These include profit sharing and commission payments, salaries, allowances, bonuses and reimbursements, directors' fees and dividends. The court ruled that all payments sought by the plaintiffs be clawed back from the trio. This is with the exception of Ms Lee's and Mr Cheong's basic salary payments, which were contractual obligations. Ms Lee had a basic monthly salary of S$5,500 from January 2016. She also had a variable component of her salary which was 20 per cent of the company's monthly net profit. Her basic salary became S$13,200 from September 2020 and she could get a discretionary bonus based on performance. Mr Ju had a basic monthly salary of S$24,000 per month from November 2019, with a possible two months' bonus. Mr Cheong had a basic monthly salary of S$2,600 from May 2017, along with a variable portion of his salary which was 50 per cent of the company's monthly net profit generated by his clients. In September 2020, his basic salary increased to over S$3,000 in September 2020 and he could get a performance bonus. The second judgment issued by the court allowed the claimants to claw back commission payments, profit sharing payments, referral fees and over-withdrawn sums from six Envy employees. They are: Sales directors Mr Lau Lee Sheng and Mr Teo Wei Wen Benjamin, financial accountant and office operations director Ms Shen Xuhuai, sales associates Mr Koh Hong Jie and Mr Chua Wei Jian Jordan and business development director and marketing communications director Mr Guo Yujia. Mr Lau was found liable for S$17.9 million, Mr Teo was found liable for S$10.2 million, Ms Shen was found liable for S$6.1 million, Mr Koh was found liable for about $5 million, Mr Guo was found liable for S$2.6 million and Mr Chua was found liable for about S$370,880. All six of them had been paid commissions for referring investors to invest in the fake nickel trading. Four of the them had been paid "over-withdrawn sums", which refer to the money in excess of their investment principals in the purported nickel trading. The judge noted that "for any Ponzi scheme to achieve a certain scale, its primary architect would require enablers: individuals who knew full well what was going on but were happy to keep quiet as long as their financial interests were advanced by doing so, or individuals who engaged in questionable business practices without asking too many questions". "This case features the unfortunate confluence of all of these truly distressing features. The outcome was a truly shocking one," he said. The verdict in Ng's separate criminal trial is pending.
Straits Times
07-07-2025
- Straits Times
Students shelter in libraries as heatwave hits eastern China
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox The heatwave has piled pressure onto China's power grid. BEIJING - Universities in eastern China scrambled to upgrade their dorms with air conditioning, and one let students sleep in cooler libraries, after near record temperatures raised concerns about the health of students and staff. One student at Qingdao University in Shandong suffered from heat stroke, and the school would upgrade its student accommodation over the summer break, Jimu News, an arm of state-run Hubei Daily, reported. One member of staff there died on the morning of July 5 after showing signs of 'physical distress', the university added without saying whether that was linked to the heatwave. The staff member was a dormitory supervisor, Jimu News said. A total of 28 locations across central Henan and eastern Shandong provinces issued their most severe alerts for extreme heat on July 7. Parts of the coastal city of Qingdao saw temperatures soar to 40.5 deg C over the weekend, just 0.5 deg C below the highest recorded there since records began in 1961, according to the official Qingdao Daily. Qingdao University, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters, was one of at least six colleges to announce plans to upgrade student accommodation in recent days. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Eligible S'poreans to get up to $850 in GSTV cash, up to $450 in MediSave top-ups in August Singapore Four golf courses to close by 2035, leaving Singapore with 12 courses Singapore Fewer marriages in Singapore in 2024; greater marital stability for recent unions Singapore Construction starts on Cross Island Line Phase 2; 6 MRT stations in S'pore's west ready by 2032 Singapore Shell heist: Second mastermind gets more than 25 years' jail for siphoning $100m of fuel Asia 72-year-old man on diving trip to Pulau Tioman in Malaysia found dead on the beach Singapore Jail for ex-auxiliary police officer who loaded one bullet and accidentally discharged revolver Singapore $1.46b nickel scam: Ng Yu Zhi opts to remain silent after judge calls for his defence Yantai Nanshan University, also in Shandong, said on July 7 it would let students stay overnight in libraries as it prepared to work on the student halls. Video footage posted by Jimu News showed scores of students sitting on the floor in air-conditioned supermarkets to escape the heat. The heatwave has piled pressure onto China's power grid. The national electricity load surged to a record 1.47 billion kilowatts on July 4 as demand for air conditioning spiked, according to state broadcaster CCTV. The announcements will fuel concerns over Chinese institutions' preparedness for extreme weather events, which scientists say are exacerbated by global warming. In 2022, China was hit by the worst heatwaves since 1961, with many parts enduring a 79-day hot spell from mid-June to late August. According a 2023 report published in the medical journal The Lancet, there were about 50,900 heatwave-related deaths in China that year. No official death toll was disclosed at the time. China does not provide regular tallies of heat-related deaths. REUTERS
