Dr Goh Jin Hian has resigned from his position as chairman of Cordlife Group, the company announced in a filing with the Singapore Exchange on Monday (5 Oct).
This came after it was reported that Dr Goh, the son of former Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong, has been sued by the judicial managers of Inter-Pacific Petroleum (IPP) for over US$156 million (S$212.6 million) in losses.
The former director of IPP was accused of breaching his director’s duties “to act with skill, care and diligence” following the suspension of IPP’s bunker craft operator license in June 2019.
In court documents seen by ST, the suit seeks to recover about US$156 million with interest from Dr Goh for drawdowns of trade financing between June and July 2019 that the banks alleged were “non-existent of sham transactions”.
Following that, Cordlife announced yesterday that Dr Goh has stepped down from his position as its chairman, and it has appointed vice-chairman Ho Choon Hou as acting chairman with immediate effect.
“In view of the above, in order to devote more time to his personal affairs, Dr Goh will be stepping down as chairman of the board with immediate effect, but will continue to serve as ID [independent director] of the company,” it said.
Cordlife noted that its nominating committee (NC) and board had “just been made aware” of the suit made against Dr Goh, as reported by The Straits Times.
However, Cordlife NC and board believe that he “has the character and integrity suitable to continue as ID of the company”.
“At this juncture, the cessation of Dr Goh’s role as chairman will allow Dr Goh to continue ensuring that sufficient time and attention is given to the affairs the company as ID,” it added.
Previously, New Silkroutes Group stated that Dr Goh is “assisting” the Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) with investigations into possible offence under the Securities and Futures Act.
The company said no charges have been made against any person at this time, adding that Dr Goh’s passport has been retained by the CAD.
Dr Goh had stepped down as the CEO of New Silkroutes Group last week, and became the non-executive chairman thereafter.
