KUALA LUMPUR (April 7): HHRG Bhd (KL:HHRG) said it had suspended its chief executive officer Fong Chee Khuen for two weeks, pending the outcome of an internal probe.

The suspension, which takes immediate effect, serves as a precautionary measure to facilitate an independent review into allegations of misconduct in breach of the company’s policies and terms and conditions of Fong’s employment, said the biomass maker in a bourse filing on Monday.

During the suspension period, executive deputy chairman Datuk Paduka Ammar Shaikh Mahmood Naim will assume full authority over the company's operational and managerial matters, HHRG said.

It added that Fong’s suspension will have no financial or operational impact on the company.

HHRG has had a turbulent time as of late.

In March, its largest shareholder, the Ch’ng family’s Cfamillie Holdings Sdn Bhd, called for an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) to remove HHRG’s board. Prior to launching the requisition, Cfamillie transferred its entire 16% stake to Digital Trustee Bhd, which holds the stake on behalf of Cfamillie as the custodian.

Meanwhile, HHRG countered by suing Digital Trustee and Cfamillie at the High Court, seeking to declare the requisition notice for the EGM invalid and prevent the meeting from taking place.

Case management for HHRG’s application for an interim injunction — a temporary halt — on the EGM is slated for Tuesday, April 8.

Besides Fong, HHRG previously suspended three senior executives at its 51%-owned unit, MG Furniture Sdn Bhd, who are also members of the Ch’ng family. The suspended executives were MG Furniture managing director Ch’ng Chen Mong, production manager Ch’ng Boon Sin, and finance and human resources manager Sau Hwee Fern.

Chen Mong is the head of the Ch’ng family, while Boon Sin is his son. HHRG said the suspensions were to facilitate an internal investigation into the management of MG Furniture and non-compliance with board directives related to an unspecified court order.

Last week, MG Furniture filed an interim injunction application to restrain four HHRG directors — Chen Mong, director Tan Poh Cheng, Boon Sin, and Sau — from interfering in its operations or accessing its Penang premises.

Shares in HHRG ended one sen or 9.09% lower at 10 sen on Monday, valuing the company at RM96.14 million.

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