KUALA LUMPUR (June 12): Newly listed Edelteq Holdings Bhd's group chief executive officer cum executive director Chin Yong Keong has denied the claims made by his former employer Mi Technovation Bhd, who accused him of breaching his employment contract and making false or misleading statements in Edelteq's prospectus regarding his tenure with Mi Technovation.
In a statement on Monday (June 12), Chin said the allegations pertaining to his employment history are “baseless and unwarranted”, and had instructed his lawyers to take appropriate action against Mi Technovation for its allegations, which he said had defamed him.
“With reference to my departure from Mi Technovation in March 2019, it was the result of a major organisational restructuring that substantially diminished my duties, authority and work sphere. I maintain that this amounted to constructive dismissal by Mi Technovation,” Chin said.
“Dissatisfied with being constructively dismissed by Mi Technovation, I sought reinstatement under Section 20 of the Industrial Relations Act on April 26, 2019. Reconciliation efforts with Mi Technovation via Jabatan Perhubungan Perusahaan (JPP) in May and June 2019 proved fruitless.
“Despite having a strong case, I chose not to pursue my case for reinstatement in July 2019. This decision was driven by my desire to move on and concentrate on a new business endeavour with Edelteq Ventures Sdn Bhd. Mi Technovation was copied in the letter from JPP dated July 22, 2019 confirming the withdrawal of my claim for reinstatement,” Chin said.
On May 17, Mi Technovation announced that it was suing Chin, who was its chief operating officer cum general manager from July 2, 2018, saying that Edelteq's profile on Chin, which stated that he left Mi Technovation's employment in March 2019, was "calculated to mislead readers in that it gives the impression that there was mutual termination of his employment contract", and that it did not disclose material facts, including the repudiation of his employment contract.
According to Mi Technovation, Chin filed for a representation for reinstatement under Section 20(1) of the Industrial Relations Act 1967, after a dispute with his former employer over his scope of work, authority and responsibility.
The company said Chin deemed himself constructively dismissed and did not report for duty, despite an independent investigative committee finding no basis for his claims and Mi Technovation ordering him to return to work. Chin subsequently withdrew his representation in July 2019 without informing the company, Mi Technovation claimed.
However, on May 20, Edelteq via UOB Kay Hian — its principal adviser, sponsor, underwriter and placement agent for the initial public offering (IPO) exercise — said that the Department of Industrial Relations Malaysia had written to Chin confirming that the representation was dropped, and had copied the letter to Mi Technovation.
Edelteq's listing on the ACE Market, initially scheduled for May 30, was eventually postponed to June 7 following the legal tussle between Chin and Mi Technovation.
The engineering support provider for integrated circuit assembly and test processes made an impressive debut on that day, closing at 73 sen, up 204.17% from its IPO offering price of 24 sen. The stock closed at 64 sen on Monday, down 3.5 sen or 5.19%, giving it a market capitalisation of RM338.32 million.
Chin's holdings in Edelteq have been diluted to 44.05% post IPO, from 58.23% previously. Edelteq raised about RM24 million from the IPO.