Singapore Kitchen Equipment CEO retained despite alleged fraud

Chua, along with senior manager Koh, is on bail after being charged. 

Singapore Kitchen Equipment’s (SKE) CEO Chua Chwee Choo and senior manager Koh Sai Eng will remain in their posts despite being charged under the Penal Code over alleged accounting-related offences.

The group’s nominating committee and board, excluding Chua and her spouse Lee Chong Hoe, SKE’s co-founder and executive director, believe both executives should remain in their posts pending further developments.

Chua and Koh are on bail, with the next court hearing scheduled for 1 July 2026, according to a bourse filing. 

The board expects the group's business to continue as usual, as the court proceedings are not expected to disrupt its operations, the company added.

In April, the company said it submitted a resumption proposal to the Singapore Exchange Regulation to lift the trading suspension of its shares. 

The charges relate to investigations by the Commercial Affairs Department into alleged accounting-related offences involving Q’son Kitchen Equipment Pte. Ltd. (QKE), SKE’s main operating subsidiary.

In a separate release, the Singapore Police Force said Chua, Koh, and former chief financial officer Chow Mei Ling were charged in court on 3 June with offences under the Penal Code and the Securities and Futures Act.

The three were accused of conspiring between February and March 2021 to make false representations to SKE’s auditor, BDO LLP, regarding bonuses paid by QKE.

Authorities alleged that over 100 payment vouchers belonging to the group’s subsidiary were falsified to make it appear that the bonuses were paid in January 2020.

Following the alleged falsification, SKE purportedly made false statements relating to its profitability in financial statement announcements for FY2018 to FY2020, the police added

The three individuals face a total of 16 charges, including two amalgamated charges each for Chua and Koh.

“These charges are for the alleged offences of fraud by false representation, falsification of accounts, forgery, or consenting to SKE making false statements that were likely to induce the sale or purchase of its securities,” the police said.

SKE said it will reassess the suitability of the continued appointments of relevant directors and key management personnel if there are material developments.