SINGAPORE, Sept 8 — Two days after the People’s Action Party’s (PAP) Dr Ng Eng Hen said that the party would issue a “definitive clarification” on the Punggol East accounts, the Aljunied-Hougang-Punggol East Town Council (AHPETC) has issued a statement today saying it has yet to receive a clarification from the ruling party.

Citing a Lianhe ZaoBao report which quoted PAP candidate Charles Chong as saying the Town Council had, at the time, approximately one million dollars in surplus, AHPETC said: “We have seen no supporting evidence for Chong’s claim that there was a surplus of S$1 million (RM3.047 million) in the accounts of Punggol East SMC at the point of merger into AHPETC.

Chong’s statement is misleading and AHPETC is obliged to set the record straight.”

The statement added that Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean’s comments on Sunday that Pasir Ris-Punggol Town Council had handed over S$22.5 million to AHPETC is “irrelevant and misleading” as it referred to the Sinking Fund transferred to AHPETC after the 2013 Punggol East By-Election.

“Sinking Fund monies are not relevant when discussing operating surpluses or deficits of Town Councils as Sinking Fund monies are locked away for Sinking Fund expenditures, and cannot be used for Operating Fund expenditures. Town Councils’ bottom line figures comprise of monies in its Operating Fund only,” the AHPETC said.

The AHPETC added that when Hougang SMC was merged with Aljunied GRC to form Aljunied-Hougang Town in 2011, the Hougang Town Council transferred S$22.5 million to AHTC’s Sinking Fund as well.

On Sunday, Dr Ng had responded to Workers’ Party chief Low Thia Khiang’s charge during his rally speech on Saturday evening that Punggol East’s accounts showed an accumulated deficit of more than S$280,000 when the WP took over.

Dr Ng had said: “The party senior leaders will be putting on record the facts and the facts will speak for themselves.” — TODAY