Protasco's EGM to remove Tey, Ooi adjourned to today

KAJANG: Protasco Bhd shareholders agreed to adjourn an EGM that was scheduled to be held yesterday after three of its major shareholders were served with an injunction hours before barring them from voting on the resolution to remove two embattled directors Tey Por Yee and Ooi Kock Aun.
The injunction order, which was served by Tey and Ooi-linked Global Capital Ltd and Kingdom Seekers Ventures Sdn Bhd, states that Protasco vice chairman and managing director Datuk Seri Chong Ket Pen, non-independent non-executive director Tan Heng Kui and UOBM Nominees (Tempatan) Sdn Bhd are prohibited to vote at the EGM that sought for the removal of the duo. The ex-parte order also restrains Protasco from recognising any changes in the board.
The adjournment request is pending a bid by Protasco to lift the injunction this morning. The EGM has been rescheduled for 3pm today in anticipation of an upliftment of the injunction. Chong, UOBM Nominees and Tan Heng Kui hold a collective 23.6% stake in Protasco.
Latest filings with the stock exchange show that Chong is still the largest shareholder of Protasco despite Tey upping his stake to 12.8% recently.
The latest move by Tey and Ooi in an ongoing boardroom tussle comes just before their own bid to remove Chong as a director in Protasco in an EGM to be held on Friday.
A total of 92.67% Protasco shareholders voted for the adjournment of the EGM.
Protasco independent non-executive director Tan Yee Boon explained that the EGM held yesterday was held back for two hours as the three parties lawyers tried to uplift the injunction order via the courts. When the attempt failed, Tan said shareholders were asked to vote for an adjournment to buy more time to remove the injunction order.
Tey and Ooi who were present at the meeting, walked out when voting for the adjournment of the meeting was called.
When asked for the reasoning behind the injunction, the duo declined to comment, citing that the court "must have its basis".
Interestingly, Gideon Tan discharged his duty as Tey and Ooi's lawyer just days before the EGM. Tey declined to comment on the matter, saying "it is his (Gideon's) privilege" to do so.
Worth noting is that besides the duo, Protasco recently began committal proceedings against Gideon Tan for attempting to interfere with a key witness for the first legal suit to claim US$22 million (RM72 million) in damages against PT ASU for the alleged breach of a sale and purchase agreement (SPA) and a refund of the deposit of the purchase price paid.
In the suit by Protasco, PT ASU is the first defendant, while Tey and Ooi were named the second and third defendants respectively.
Notwithstanding the two suits by Protasco, Tey and Ooi have filed a counter suit claiming failure by management of Protasco to exercise their authority for the benefit of the company as well as alleging Protasco's senior management had made RM10 million in secret profits from the aborted PT Anglo Slavic Indonesia (PT ASI) deal.
On Monday, Protasco filed a second legal suit against Ooi and PT Goldchild Integritas Abadi to seek a refund of a US$5.16 million (RM17.28 million) deposit under a coal trading agreement, after discovering that Ooi had interest in PT Goldchild and that he had not declared the interest.
Protasco's share price was down 9 sen or 5.33% to RM1.60 on some 1.98 million shares done.