This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on August 15, 2018

KUALA LUMPUR: An out-of-court settlement agreement is understood to be currently in the works for the alleged wrongful dismissal of Menang Corp (M) Bhd deputy managing director (MD) Toh May Fook.

At the Industrial Court yesterday, the hearing for the case, in which Toh is seeking a reinstatement of his employment in Menang on the grounds of wrongful termination by the company, did not commence as scheduled.

Instead, Toh, Menang’s former MD Datuk Eddie Shun Leong Kwong and their respective legal counsel were in the chambers of the Industrial Court chairman for close to an hour.

It is understood that parties have agreed to work out a settlement agreement. The terms of the agreement that were discussed were not known at press time. However, as the terms of the settlement agreement are not finalised yet, Toh’s claims against the company still stand.

To recap, Toh took on the role of Menang deputy MD on a two-year contract on April 26, 2016 but was instead terminated from his duties and responsibilities less than three months later on July 19, 2016.

He was redesignated as non-executive director and eventually retired in November the same year.

An investigative committee was set up on Aug 26 that year to review Toh’s conduct as a director. Pending the outcome of the investigation, Toh was suspended as a director. On Sept 1, Menang explained to Bursa Malaysia that Toh appointed a financial consultant to look into specific land transactions in 2005 that were undertaken without the knowledge or approval of the group MD and the board.

Toh clarified that he asked an accounting firm to independently review the land transactions after discovering some questionable deals. After he was removed as deputy MD, Toh remained a substantial shareholder of Menang with a 12.5% stake as at Jan 12, 2018.

The Edge Malaysia weekly had reported that in July last year, Shun was charged with questionable land dealings involving two companies — The Continuum Sanctuary Commercial Sdn Bhd and Menang’s wholly-owned Menang Development (M) Sdn Bhd. Shun pleaded not guilty on Aug 2.

In December last year, the Sessions Court granted Shun a discharge not amounting to an acquittal.