Two media veterans sued over loan for business set up to promote Mandarin

Two media professionals, Mr Chua Chim Kang and Ms Lee Kuan Fung, are being sued by a businessman seeking repayment of a $990,000 interest-free loan he had given the pair in 2017.

- Selina Lum

Businessman Ren Xin Wu, a Canadian national who is originally from China, said the sum was for a company called Homing Holdings that was set up to promote the use of Mandarin in Singapore.

Mr Chua was a journalist at Chinese daily Lianhe Zaobao and had served as chief editor of the now-defunct Lianhe Wanbao.

He is now head and chief editor of Chinese news and current affairs at Mediacorp.

Ms Lee was a former associate editor of bilingual news site omy, and headed the Chinese media digital strategy department at the former Singapore Press Holdings (SPH). She is now a freelancer.

In his suit, Mr Ren accused Ms Lee of mismanaging Homing, and accused Mr Chua and Ms Lee of breaching an agreement to repay the loan.

In a separate but related lawsuit, Ms Lee is accused of breaching her fiduciary duties by allegedly siphoning $40,000 from Homing after "orchestrating" a questionable transaction with another firm named Goldciti.

The two High Court suits are being heard together in a trial that started on Nov 12.

Mr Ren was introduced to Mr Chua in September 2015, the businessman's lawyer, Ms Jasmin Kang, said in her opening statement.

According to Mr Ren, in August 2016, Mr Chua mentioned that Ms Lee was a very capable former colleague who had, together with him, planned a business venture.

Mr Ren started negotiations with the pair to explore a joint venture based on Ms Lee's plan to set up a business to teach Mandarin, said Ms Kang.