Ex-Symphony Life CFO awarded RM729,000 in back pay over wrongful dismissal

• In a 90-page judgment dated Oct 24, Industrial Court chairman D Paramalingam ordered Symphony Life to pay Ng Ying Yiing 24 months of back wages due to unfair dismissal by the company.

KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 30): While Symphony Life Bhd’s former group chief financial officer Ng Ying Yiing was charged on Tuesday for using company funds to purchase shares in Cycle and Carriage Bintang Bhd (CCB) without board approval, the Industrial Court last week separately awarded her RM792,000 in back wages and had seemingly absolved her of wrongdoing in its judgment.

In a 90-page judgment dated Oct 24, Industrial Court chairman D Paramalingam ordered Symphony Life to pay Ng 24 months of back wages due to unfair dismissal by the company. Symphony Life had claimed that Ng acted without board approval to purchase the shares on its behalf.

Paramalingam laid the blame at the door of group chief executive officer Chin Jit Pyng, who had hastily terminated Ng, after she lodged an internal complaint about his alleged wrongdoings in the company, which led to an internal investigation and audit.

Chin, the chairman said, authorised the share purchase.

Along with the group adviser at the time, Datuk David Goh, they were fully aware that funds had been transferred to purchase CCB shares via transcripts of WhatsApp messages between the two.

Goh was also charged with Ng on Tuesday at the Shah Alam Sessions Court for the same offence.

“It is evident that the entire episode pertaining to the transaction of purchasing the CCB shares was orchestrated by Chin together with [Goh],” he said.

“When Chin got wind of the impending audit investigations, he set out to scupper the probe and instead turned the table on Ng, the company’s executive director (Teo Chiah Chyi) and audit committee member (Loi Chee Fong),” Paramalingam said, adding that as a result, Chin suspended Ng and Teo.

"It is as clear as day that the entire investigation that was started by the company, and conducted in such haste, was orchestrated by Chin with the sole purpose of frustrating the investigations on his misconduct," he said.

He also said that Ng should consider bringing a civil action suit against Chin.

Furthermore, in his findings sighted by The Edge, Paramalingam referred to Ng’s termination letter from the company on Sept 13, 2021.

He surmised that the company’s contention that Ng cannot act on her own to transfer funds, and only the group accountant has that power under the Delegated Authority of Limit (DAL), is wrong.

“The court is unable to agree with the company’s contention. It is clear from Item 9.6 of the DAL that the ultimate authority to approve the placement of funds lies solely with the claimant (Ng),” he said, adding that this was also in line with the company director’s circular resolutions (DCR).

“The claimant, being one of the directors of the company at the material point in time, was fully authorised to effect the placement of funds by virtue of the company’s DAL and also the DCR,” he said, adding that Ng was “fully authorised” to execute placement of funds for investment.

Paramalingam also referred to another text exchange via WhatsApp between Chin and Ng, where the latter informed him of the investment. Neither Chin nor anyone in the company raised any objection, Paramalingam said.

“Chin clearly knew that Ng was proposing to open up the online trading account and he never objected to the same.

“His only concern was on the cash flow, which, looking at the evidence before the court, was really not an issue for the company,” he said.

Chin had full knowledge of opening the online trading account and the transfer of funds to the tune of RM3.5 million by Ng, Paramalingam added.

This was approved by a DCR via the company’s wholly-owned subsidiary Symphony Capital Sdn Bhd (SCSB, formerly known as Noble Senawang Sdn Bhd) which in turn would open an investment account with RHB Investment Bank (RHBIB).

Paramalingam explained that Chin, when pushed to answer by Ng’s lawyer, had admitted that he was the one who had told RHBIB’s remisier that Ng would be conducting the purchase of CCB’s shares on his behalf.

“Ng certainly did not go on a frolic on her own to make the purchase of the CCB shares according to her own whims and fancies,

“It is rather mischievous of the company now to lay the blame squarely on the Claimant’s shoulders the moment they suffered losses on the said CCB shares,” he said.

Ng was appointed as an independent non-executive director of the company on March 23, 2021, and was informed of her dismissal via a letter dated Sept 13 the same year.

She received a monthly salary and allowances totaling RM33,000.

Lawyers Shanker Subramaniam and Juanita Louise Chua Ai Ling represented Ng while the company was represented by Datuk Megat Abdul Munir and Muhammad Asyraf Abd Aziz.

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