Singapore Paincare receives letters of claim worth S$350,000 to S$450,000

Medical services company Singapore Paincare has received letters of claim worth between S$350,000 and S$450,000, it said in a bourse filing on Tuesday (Sep 2).

Lawyers representing Lim Seow Yuen submitted two letters on Aug 6 and 7, claiming that she provided services to the company in 2020 due to “promises and assurances” allegedly made by Singapore Paincare CEO Bernard Lee.

Lee informed his company about the letters on Aug 11, denying the allegations. He said that the financial arrangements he made with Lim were in his “private capacity”. He denied that the arrangements were made on behalf of the company for its listing on SGX Catalist.

“Accordingly, there is no basis for Ms Lim’s claim against the company,” said Singapore Paincare lead independent director Wong Yee Kong in the filing. “Dr Lee is confident that the company will succeed in its defence should Ms Lim bring proceedings.”

Singapore Paincare has also been indemnified for the claimed sums by Lee, subject to him taking charge of how the company defends the case and his provision of financial security to ensure he can pay.

The company’s board added that Lim’s lawyers also issued a letter on Aug 26 to Novus Corporate Finance and the Singapore Exchange, asserting that Lee and Singapore Paincare owed Lim more than S$1 million – well above the S$350,000 to S$450,000 claimed in the Aug 6 and 7 letters.

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Novus Corporate Finance served as the sponsor and issue manager for Singapore Paincare during its initial public offering in 2020 and other corporate activities.

The Singapore Paincare board added that the receipt of the Aug 6 and 7 letters did not need to be disclosed as they were not material. However, it made the decision to disclose details of the claims following the Aug 26 letter.

Singapore Paincare was recently criticised by the Securities Investors Association (Singapore) over two WhatsApp messages sent to shareholders ahead of a scheme meeting. The messages, sent by Lee and chief operating officer Jeffrey Loh, were a breach of rule 8.6 of the code on takeovers and mergers, said the association.

Shares of Singapore Paincare were 0.6 per cent or S$0.001 down to close at S$0.158 on Monday (Sep 1).