WRP Sues Ex-CEO for Additional RM150 Million
Recovered Funds to be Channelled to WRP’s Creditors
24th August 2020, Kuala Lumpur – WRP Asia Pacific Sdn Bhd’s (WRP’s) ongoing legal proceedings against its ousted Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Dato’ Lee Son Hong, saw the filing of four additional suits valued at over RM150 million.
The company says it plans to channel the recovered funds to settle the substantial outstanding payment of debts due to WRP’s creditors.
These suits, based on forensic audit work, relate to the purchase of production lines by WRP between 2014 and 2016 under Dato’ Lee’s oversight which was found to be inflated at over twice the market value.
Thomas Philip Advocates and Solicitors (Thomas Philip), the lawyers acting on behalf of the new Board of Directors (BoD), have filed these cases at the Kuala Lumpur High Court against Dato’ Lee and the suppliers for fraudulently and deliberately inflating the prices of production lines for Dato’ Lee’s personal benefit.
Special Counsel for WRP, Mathew Thomas Philip, who is the Founder and Managing Partner of Thomas Philip said, “Upon taking possession of WRP’s premises in January, the new BoD made a strategic decision to mandate a forensic audit which is still ongoing and continues to unravel the extent of mismanagement.”
“We will do all we can to bring some semblance of fairness to WRP and its stakeholders to turn the company back to profitability,” he added.
The new suits follow a number of suits previously filed against Dato’ Lee. Earlier this year, Thomas Philip also filed a suit against Dato’ Lee for paying his two privately-owned companies, Advanced Medical Products Sdn Bhd (AMP) and Advanced Healthcare Products Sdn Bhd (AHP), approximately RM129 million and RM378 million respectively which WRP claims were not in the best interests of WRP.
A further case for fraud against Dato’ Lee had been filed by the BoD involving RM8.4 million in January this year.
As part of further investigations into these alleged misappropriations of funds by the ex-CEO, the company’s premises were also raided by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission in June.
Notwithstanding these legal and financial matters, WRP is recognised as a world-leading manufacturer and exporter of premium quality glove products, with a strong track record of exporting its wide range of high-quality products to countries such as the United States of America, Canada, and Japan, which have stringent quality controls in place.
Time and again, Thomas Philip has indicated that the BoD remains committed to progressively make changes through various aspects of the company, including its people, processes and procedures, to ensure expeditious and effective turnaround of WRP.