” I TRUSTED NG AS A PERSON” ,
On Tuesday, Mr Lau took the stand for the first time, with the trial asking him about how he came to know Ng and how he finally joined the company.
The jury heard that Mr Lau and Ng were past secondary school peers who lost call until late 2015, when they met up through a mutual friend.
Following Ng’s tips, Mr Lau said he after invested S$ 50, 000 in offshore cutting business Seadrill somewhere in 2016, which did “very well”, going up by five to six days.
In February 2016, he learnt about metal buying from Ng, who shared that the material may be procured from a vendor and that Ng was doing crowdsourcing to do the deal.  ,
Encouraged by the efficiency of his past purchases, Mr Lau decided to invest S$ 100, 000 in the metal system with his parents.  ,
” I trusted Ng as a man, trusted his funding skills. He seemed quite effective at the time”, he said.  ,
When the lease matured three months later, in May 2016, Mr Lau said he withdrew the funds.  ,
Hoping to learn more about how the firm operated, he joined the company somewhere in 2016, taking up a part in selling.
The jury heard that Mr Lau’s major role was to raise money for the organization.
As of February 2021– when the Commercial Affairs Department ( CAD ) commenced its investigations into Envy Global Trading – Mr Lau was managing about 30 investors, with at least half being his family members.  ,
During Tuesday’s examination-in-chief, the trial presented crucial information relating to the reported buy of nickel. This included “distributorship contracts” between Ng’s firms and Poseidon Nickel Limited, as well as comments claiming to show dealings between Envy Asset Management and BNP Paribas.  ,
Sometime in the second quarter of 2018, Mr Lau began questioning Ng about the program as he had received vital questions from prospective buyers, which he could not reply.
He also voiced worries he had about the bank with Ng, saying there were “quite a dozen red banners”.
This included questions about the names on partnerships, which appeared to be printed more than nicely signed.  ,
” My investors are my immediate family, my friends, my close ones, so I’m always doing my utmost best to protect their interest and monies …so when these questions with regard to ( the company’s ) came up and I couldn’t answer them … it made me feel concerned to a very large extent because I had been raising a lot of funds for the company”, he said.  ,
Nevertheless, Mr Lau said he often felt reassured by Ng’s explanations, and at times also felt like he was overstepping by asking these questions.  ,
Ng was arrested in February 2021 and charged with cheating, legal breach of trust, fraud, false investing and money laundering.
On Tuesday, Mr Lau testified that Ng organised an “all-hands-on-deck” appointment immediately after being released on bail. This was attended by the top management of all the bank’s companies.
When Mr Lau asked Ng if the finances were in Singapore, Ng reportedly told him that about US$ 300 million was parked in an onshore Citibank UK consideration under the name of Envy Asset Management Trading. Individually, another US$ 60 million was said to be with a Hong Kong firm called PPG Asia.  ,
Afterwards, at a meeting with owners, Ng replied “very safely” that there was more than enough to pay off the second round of results to shareholders, said Mr Lau.  ,
” THE WORLD CAME CRASHING DOWN”
Towards the end of the examination-in-chief, which spanned nearly five hours, Mr Lau grew emotional as he described the financial toll the case has taken on him.  ,
He told the court that liquidators have commenced legal proceedings against the company’s ex-employees- including Mr Lau- seeking the return of commission they had earned.  ,
” If liquidators are successful, I will be bankrupt”, he said, adding that they are demanding he repay over S$ 17 million based on their accounting methodology.  ,
Mr Lau also said the case has affected his career:” Investors … don’t trust me. I lost their trust” . ,
” I find it very hard to believe in documents these days, ( it’s ) so easy to use Photoshop to forge documents” . ,
” Revisiting all this- all the lies and fraudulent documents- is traumatic”, he said, as tears welled up in his eyes.  ,
He shared that his father had invested about S$ 15 million to S$ 16 million, while his mother had put in a significant portion of her life savings- approximately S$ 500, 000- in the scheme.
” Two months after the investigation, ( my mother ) felt a lump in her chest. During that period, Mr Ng got arrested for forgery. That was when we realised everything was a fraud”, he said.  ,
” It was like the world came crashing down on me and my family”.
Mr Lau said his mother was later diagnosed with stage four cancer.  ,
Sitting in the dock, Ng appeared emotionless as he flipped through a stack of documents.
” Every year ( between 2016 and 2021 ), Envy has always held annual meetings with investors. My family would always be there, thanking ( Ng ) for the profit he generated … I just find it very hard to believe”, he said.  ,
The trial continues on Wednesday, with the defence expected to cross-examine Lau.  ,