TAWAU: The High Court here today continued hearing a civil trial involving Bahvest Resources Berhad and Wullersdorf Resources Sdn Bhd as plaintiffs, and Datuk Lo Fui Ming, Lo Teck Yong, Chong Khing Chung, and Southsea Gold Sdn Bhd as defendants.
The proceedings before Judicial Commissioner Steve Ritikos also involve a separate action filed by Southsea Gold Sdn Bhd against Wullersdorf Resources Sdn Bhd and Bahvest Resources Berhad, which has been consolidated through a prior court order.
The court then proceeded with cross-examination of the plaintiffs’ witness, Chong Tzu Khen, by defence counsel Henry Lim.
In his testimony, Chong was questioned on related party transactions and confirmed that board and shareholder approvals are required under Bursa Malaysia Listing Requirements before such transactions can be implemented.
He also agreed that failure to obtain prior approval could render such transactions non-compliant with Bursa regulations.
Chong further confirmed that he had instructed the issuance of letters to three independent non-executive directors in May 2023 concerning a temporary resolution, which included a warning of potential legal action if no response was received. However, he stated that the letters were not intended as threats and that no legal action was subsequently taken.
On board composition, Chong confirmed that Bahvest’s board comprised five members at the material time, including three independent directors and two executive directors, with the independent directors forming the majority in line with Bursa requirements.
He also confirmed that the independent directors later approved the temporary resolution during a board meeting in May 2023.
The proceedings further examined production records and gold dore invoices, where Chong agreed that differences existed in document formats and signatures. He confirmed that some invoices were signed by him while others were signed by Chong Khing Chung, with several documents admitted as defence exhibits after verification of their serial sequence.
He also referred to the company’s financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2022, which recorded expenditures related to mining infrastructure and assets, and confirmed the documents were signed by Datuk Lo Fui Ming and Lo Teck Yong.
On land agreements, Chong maintained that the Letter of Consent (LOC) and the sublease agreement were interrelated and disagreed that the sublease superseded the LOC. He added that mining facilities evolved from temporary to permanent structures as operations progressed.
During re-examination by plaintiffs’ counsel Norbert Yapp, Chong explained that the term “back signed” referred to invoices that were reprinted and signed later for submission to authorities after original documents were unavailable following a Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) seizure. He confirmed the documents were used for royalty assessment purposes.
The hearing will continue tomorrow at 9am.
