Kitchen Culture has appointed Lincoln Teo Choong Han as interim CEO following the termination of outgoing CEO Lim Wee Li.
Teo’s appointment was effective on July 8, one day after Lim’s termination on July 7.
The company also announced that it will obtain Lim's resignation as director.
See: Kitchen Culture discloses internal control review on cash management in response to SGX query
According to a filing by Kitchen Culture on July 7, Lim was terminated due to him being in “gross default or grave misconduct in connection with or affecting the business of the company”.
On June 23, Kitchen Culture explained that it had appointed Baker Tilly Consultancy to conduct an internal control review of the company and its wholly-owned subsidiary, KHL Marketing Asia-Pacific, following the fundraising exercises in 2020 and related matters.
Kitchen Culture added that its audit committee had reviewed Baker Tilly’s findings and recommended that the company’s board adopt the latter’s recommendations.
The explanations were issued as a response to the query from the Singapore Exchange Regulation (SGX RegCo) regarding Kitchen Culture’s “unusual volume movements” in its shares on June 22.
In a filing on July 14 detailing Lim’s termination, Lim alleged that he was terminated by the board pertaining to matters that “involved the conduct of the entire board or others who were or are members of the board”.
Lim has also accused Kitchen Culture of terminating him from his position as CEO before completing its investigations following the interim report submitted by Baker Tilly.
On the whistleblowing report that Kitchen Culture’s audit and risk committee allegedly received on June 28, which led to the company’s decision to terminate Lim, Lim says that the report was not extended to him.
The questions put before the board regarding Lim’s possible misconduct were also removed from the agenda, says Lim.
In a separate filing, Kitchen Culture’s board of directors refuted Lim’s claims that he was terminated based on the whistleblowing report.
The termination, says the board, was based on “certain conclusive findings” in the interim report written by Baker Tilly.
Lim’s verbal and written responses were considered and noted in the paper.
“The interim report identified certain clear acts, and failures to act, by Mr. Lim, which Mr. Lim either did not deny, or could not explain, in his written responses to Baker Tilly. These acts, and failures to act, were the basis for the Board’s decision to terminate Mr. Lim’s employment,” says Kitchen Culture.
Kitchen Culture adds that Lim, as CEO, was primarily responsible for the management and conduct of the company.
“After the board decided to terminate Mr. Lim’s employment, Mr. Lim’s lawyers sent a letter dated 7 July 2021, containing Mr. Lim’s further written responses to the interim report. The board has carefully considered Mr. Lim’s further written responses and has decided that the termination of Mr. Lim’s employment was justified. Mr. Lim was informed of the board’s decision on 12 July 2021.”
Photo: Kitchen Culture's annual report
