But the company, answering queries from the Singapore Exchange, says its books have no record of cheques cut for this purpose

 

[SINGAPORE] Catalist-listed Advanced Systems Automation (ASA) : WJ9 -12.5% on Thursday (Jul 24) said that its former chief executive claimed that cheques for more than S$1 million issued to him from the company&rsquo s bank account were for unpaid salaries and other monies he was owed. 

 

The company, which manufactures equipment for semiconductor assembly, said: &ldquo However, the board has, to date, found no record in the company&rsquo s books explicitly documenting that the payments via the three cheques were for such purposes.&rdquo

 

It said this in response to queries from the Singapore Exchange (SGX) about unauthorised fund transfers and a police report the company lodged over &ldquo potential offences&rdquo committed by its ex-CEO Seah Chong Hoe and its former director, Mohd Sopiyan Mohd Rashdi. 

 

The two had bypassed the board in making themselves bank signatories of the company&rsquo s Maybank bank account, the group said previously. 

 

Following the unauthorised change in bank signatories, the three cheques for a collective sum exceeding S$1 million, were issued from the company&rsquo s bank account to Seah. The cheques were for the sums of S$442,052.18, S$259,013 and S$310,000. 

 

Prior to the cheques being issued, Seah instructed for S$903,594.46 to be transferred from the bank account of ASA&rsquo s wholly owned Malaysian subsidiary, Emerald Precision Engineering, to the company&rsquo s bank account. 

 

ASA said it is obtaining legal advice regarding his claims. It is also reviewing the basis of the outstanding amounts allegedly owed to him to determine if they are genuine. 

 

&ldquo In the event it is determined that Seah is not entitled to these outstanding amounts, the company will seek reimbursement of the outstanding amounts,&rdquo ASA said. 

 

If a reimbursement is successful, it would positively affect the group&rsquo s financial position, ASA said. 

 

Capital World says Malaysian anti-graft body is probing transactions linked to its former subsidiary

However, if it is unsuccessful, there will be no material impact on the company&rsquo s financial position, because the amounts have already been recorded as liabilities in its balance sheet. 

 

Hence, the company maintains that its financial and operational stability are intact, and that it would be able to carry on with its business, regardless whether the funds are recovered. 

 

Seah resigned as director &ndash effective Jul 21 &ndash of three of the group&rsquo s Malaysian subsidiaries: Emerald Precision Engineering, Yumei Technologies and Yumei Real Estate Investment Trust. He also resigned as managing director of Yumei Technologies. 

Cheques totalling more than S$1 million have been issued from the company&rsquo s bank account to its former CEO

 

[SINGAPORE] Catalist-listed Advanced Systems Automation (ASA) : WJ9 0% has lodged a police report with the Singapore Police Force over potential offences committed by its ex-chief executive officer and a former director. 

 

On Tuesday (Jul 22), ASA said it lodged a report in relation to alleged breaches made by Seah Chong Hoe, who was terminated as CEO on Jun 19, and former director Mohd Sopiyan Bin Mohd Rashdi, who resigned as non-independent, non-executive director on the same day. 

 

Seah and Mohd Sopiyan were found to have bypassed the board in making themselves authorised bank signatories of the company&rsquo s Maybank bank account. This was revealed during an investigation of the company&rsquo s past transactions made from January 2025 till Seah&rsquo s termination on Jun 19. 

 

The two told Maybank that a board resolution was passed to authorise a change in the bank account&rsquo s signatories, although the company investigation showed that no such resolution was passed, ASA said.

 

Following the unauthorised change in bank signatories, cheques were issued from the Maybank account to Seah, totalling more than S$1 million, without the knowledge or authorisation of the board.

 

These included a first cheque for S$442,052.18, a second for S$259,013 and a third for S$310,000.    

 

Prior to the three cheques being issued, Seah on or around Jun 12, 2025, had instructed S$903,594.46 to be transferred to ASA&rsquo s bank account from a bank account belonging to its Malaysia-based wholly owned subsidiary, Emerald Precision Engineering. 

 

Additionally, Seah has yet to return ASA several company documents that he had control over during his tenure as CEO, despite &ldquo repeated requests&rdquo for him to do so, the company said. The documents include financial, commercial and other corporate records. 

 

ASA is a provider of backend equipment solutions, technologies and distribution services. It manufactures automated backend equipment for the semiconductor assembly process and equipment contract manufacturing.