Mary Chia admits disclosure lapses over CPF arrears at four subsidiaries after SGX queries

Cash-strapped beauty and wellness group Mary Chia Holdings has admitted that it failed to disclose CPF arrears and court proceedings involving four of its five subsidiaries, despite its chief executive being aware of the court notices earlier on.

The admission came in an Oct 9 response to queries from Singapore Exchange Regulation (SGX RegCo), which questioned why the four subsidiaries and their involvement in court proceedings were not disclosed in the company's Sept 11 announcement, and when the company first became aware of these matters.

Mary Chia's Sept 11 announcement disclosed $50,208 in outstanding CPF contributions at one subsidiary but omitted arrears and court proceedings involving four others.

All five subsidiaries' cases had already been heard together on Sept 10, and the CEO knew of their court notices.

The Catalist-listed company attributed this omission to shortcomings in its internal information consolidation and disclosure assessment processes, saying it failed to sufficiently consolidate information across its human resources, finance and management functions when preparing its Sept 11 announcement.

The group said its earlier disclosure assessment had focused primarily on Mary Chia Beauty & Slimming Specialist, whose CPF arrears and court appearance were the subject of SGX RegCo's initial query.

It said it had not undertaken a comprehensive assessment of similar issues involving other group entities, resulting in the omission of four other subsidiaries from the announcement.

These were Masego, Organica International Holdings, Spa Menu and Urban Homme Face & Body Studio for Men.

Mary Chia also revealed that the outstanding CPF contributions across the five subsidiaries had been revised to $103,727 as at Oct 9, down from approximately $153,000 stated during a court hearing a day earlier.

The revised figure was provided by the CPF Board following a reconciliation of outstanding contributions, taking into account payments made by the subsidiaries towards their arrears.

CEO knew of court notices

The latest filing also shed light on when the group's management and independent directors became aware of the CPF issues.

Mary Chia said its CEO Ho Yow Ping and the group's human resources manager were aware of the respective notices to attend court upon receiving them.

Ho also attended an interview with the CPF Board on July 22 concerning the outstanding contributions of the five subsidiaries.

The group's independent directors, meanwhile, first became aware of CPF contribution discrepancies within the group at an internal audit meeting on May 25.

At that meeting, management informed them of the discrepancies uncovered through an internal review, rectification reports submitted to the CPF Board and efforts to settle the arrears.

However, the court notices and related proceedings were not brought to their attention.

Mary Chia said its two current independent directors, Chay Yiowmin and Foo Say Tun, learnt of the outstanding contributions and court proceedings involving the four other subsidiaries only on Oct 8, when management updated the board following that day's hearing.

The company disclosed that nine separate notices to attend court had been issued by the CPF Board across the five subsidiaries.

Although the matters were initially handled separately, the CPF Board requested in August that the court mentions be consolidated.

All five companies subsequently appeared together in court on Sept 10 and Oct 8, with their cases adjourned to Nov 12.

CPF arrears revised downwards

According to the CPF Board's updated computation provided on Oct 9, Mary Chia Beauty & Slimming Specialist owed the largest amount, at $52,266, for outstanding contributions covering November 2025 to May.

Organica International Holdings owed $25,248 for contributions covering November 2025 to May 2026, while Masego had $11,341 outstanding for the period from November 2025 to April.

Urban Homme Face & Body Studio for Men owed $9,847 for contributions covering September 2025 to March, while Spa Menu had $5,025 outstanding for February.

The periods refer only to months for which CPF contributions remain unpaid, rather than every month within the stated date ranges.

The revised aggregate amount of $103,727 excludes late-payment interest and composition sums.

In an earlier Oct 9 filing, Mary Chia said its subsidiaries had been making progressive payments under schedules communicated by the CPF Board since June 2026.

The group said payments totalling approximately $29,734 were made on Oct 6 and 7.

It also disclosed that September 2026 CPF contributions amounting to about $12,570 remained outstanding across three subsidiaries, with payment due by Oct 15.

The companies intend to propose an instalment arrangement for their remaining arrears after settling those contributions.

Earlier disclosure dispute

The latest development follows an earlier disagreement between Mary Chia Holdings and its stock exchange sponsor, Evolve Capital Advisory, over the group's decision not to disclose CPF court proceedings involving Mary Chia Beauty & Slimming Specialist.

The subsidiary appeared in the State Courts on Sept 10 over 10 charges of failing to pay CPF contributions for 10 employees for September 2025.

At the time, the court heard that the company had $50,208 in outstanding contributions after making a partial payment of $11,291 the previous day.

Following queries from SGX RegCo, Mary Chia said the arrears arose from administrative lapses rather than an inability to pay and maintained that the proceedings did not warrant earlier disclosure.

Its sponsor disagreed, saying the court proceedings represented a significant escalation from an operational compliance matter and should have been announced promptly to investors.

In its latest filing, Mary Chia said it was reviewing its internal reporting and disclosure procedures, particularly the verification of statutory liabilities, regulatory matters and legal proceedings across the group.

It also said it would strengthen the timely escalation of such matters to its board and continuing sponsor.

The board confirmed that, to the best of its knowledge and belief, and after making reasonable enquiries, the company had disclosed all material information required by the exchange.

Financial pressures mount

Mary Chia's CPF troubles come amid wider financial and legal challenges for the group, which is embroiled in a dispute with corporate lender Fullink Capital over a $350,000 loan extended to Organica International Holdings and guaranteed by the listed group.

On Sept 30, the High Court paused insolvency proceedings brought by Fullink pending the transfer of $651,498.97 into court as security.

Mary Chia maintained that providing the security did not amount to an admission of liability for Fullink's disputed claims.

Separately, the group announced on Oct 6 that it planned to raise $1 million by issuing 100 million new shares to four investors, including its founder Mary Chia Ah Tow, to strengthen its financial position and support overseas expansion.

As at March 31, the group had net current liabilities of approximately $12.58 million and cash and bank balances of about $310,000.

Its independent auditor also issued a disclaimer of opinion on its financial statements for the year ended March 31, after being unable to obtain sufficient evidence across several areas, including staff costs, borrowings and the group's ability to continue as a going concern.

资金紧张的美容保健集团 Mary Chia Holdings 承认，尽管其首席执行官早已知晓法院通知，但该公司仍未披露其五家子公司中的四家拖欠公积金和涉及这些子公司的诉讼。

10 月 9 日，该公司在回复新加坡交易所监管公司 (SGX RegCo) 的质询时承认了此事。SGX RegCo 质询该公司为何未在 9 月 11 日的公告中披露其四家子公司及其卷入的诉讼程序，以及该公司何时首次得知这些事项。

Mary Chia 9 月 11 日的公告披露了其一家子公司未缴的 CPF 缴款 50,208 美元，但遗漏了其他四家子公司的欠款和诉讼程序。

9 月 10 日，这五家子公司的案件已经一起开庭审理，首席执行官也知道他们的法院通知。

这家在凯利板上市的公司将这一疏漏归咎于其内部信息整合和披露评估流程的缺陷，称其在准备 9 月 11 日的公告时，未能充分整合其人力资源、财务和管理职能部门的信息。

该集团表示，其早期的信息披露评估主要集中在 Mary Chia Beauty & Slimming Specialist，其 CPF 欠款和出庭情况是 SGX RegCo 最初询问的对象。

该公司表示，尚未对涉及其他集团实体的类似问题进行全面评估，因此公告中遗漏了其他四家子公司。

这些公司包括 Masego、Organica International Holdings、Spa Menu 和 Urban Homme Face & Body Studio for Men。

Mary Chia 还透露，截至 10 月 9 日，这五家子公司的未缴公积金总额已修正为 103,727 美元，低于前一天在法庭听证会上公布的约 153,000 美元。

经修订后的数字由中央公积金局提供，该数字是在核对未缴款项后，考虑到子公司已支付的欠款而得出的。

CEO知晓法院传票

最新提交的文件还揭示了该集团管理层和独立董事何时意识到中央公积金问题。

Mary Chia表示，其首席执行官何耀平及集团人力资源经理在收到出庭通知后均已知晓此事。

7月22日，何先生还接受了中央公积金局的问询，了解旗下五家子公司的未缴款情况。

与此同时，该集团的独立董事们在 5 月 25 日的内部审计会议上首次意识到集团内部存在公积金缴款差异。

在那次会议上，管理层向他们通报了通过内部审查发现的差异、提交给中央公积金局的整改报告以及为解决欠款所做的努力。

然而，他们并未注意到法院的通知和相关诉讼程序。

Mary Chia表示，该公司的两名现任独立董事Chay Yiowmin和Foo Say Tun直到10月8日才得知其他四家子公司的未缴款项和诉讼程序，当时管理层在当天的听证会后向董事会通报了情况。

该公司披露，中央公积金局已向其五家子公司发出九份单独的出庭通知书。

虽然这些案件最初是分开处理的，但中央公积金局在8月份要求将法庭审理合并。

随后，这五家公司分别于 9 月 10 日和 10 月 8 日一起出庭，案件延期至 11 月 12 日审理。

公积金欠款金额下调

根据中央公积金局 10 月 9 日提供的最新计算结果，Mary Chia Beauty & Slimming Specialist 欠款金额最高，为 52,266 美元，涵盖 2025 年 11 月至 5 月的未缴款。

Organica International Holdings 欠款 25,248 美元，涵盖 2025 年 11 月至 2026 年 5 月期间；而 Masego 欠款 11,341 美元，涵盖 2025 年 11 月至 4 月期间。

Urban Homme 男士面部及身体护理工作室欠款 9,847 美元，涵盖 2025 年 9 月至 3 月期间的缴款；而 Spa Menu 2 月份的欠款为 5,025 美元。

这些期间仅指公积金缴款未缴纳的月份，而不是规定日期范围内的每个月。

修订后的总金额 103,727 美元不包括滞纳金利息和和解金额。

在 10 月 9 日提交的一份文件中，Mary Chia 表示，自 2026 年 6 月以来，其子公司一直在按照中央公积金局公布的时间表进行分期付款。

该组织表示，10 月 6 日和 7 日共支付了约 29,734 美元。

报告还披露，三家子公司仍有约 12,570 美元的 2026 年 9 月公积金缴款未缴清，缴款截止日期为 10 月 15 日。

这些公司打算在偿还完上述款项后，提出分期付款方案，以偿还剩余的欠款。

早前披露争议

此前，Mary Chia Holdings 与其证券交易所保荐人 Evolve Capital Advisory 就该集团决定不披露涉及 Mary Chia Beauty & Slimming Specialist 的 CPF 法庭诉讼一事发生分歧，而此次最新进展正是源于此。

该子公司于 9 月 10 日在州法院出庭，面临 10 项指控，罪名是未向 10 名员工缴纳 2025 年 9 月的公积金。

当时，法庭获悉，该公司在前一天支付了 11,291 美元的部分款项后，仍有 50,208 美元的未缴款项。

在新加坡交易所监管公司提出质询后，Mary Chia表示，欠款是由于行政疏忽而非无力支付造成的，并坚持认为这些诉讼程序没有必要提前披露。

其发起人对此表示异议，称法庭诉讼标志着事态从运营合规问题显著升级，应该及时向投资者宣布。

在最新提交的文件中，嘉欣集团表示，正在审查其内部报告和披露程序，特别是对集团内部法定责任、监管事项和法律诉讼的核实。

该公司还表示，将加强及时向董事会和持续发起人汇报此类事项的机制。

董事会确认，据其所知和所信，并在进行合理查询后，公司已披露交易所要求的所有重要信息。

财务压力日益加剧

Mary Chia的公积金问题正值该集团面临更广泛的财务和法律挑战之际，该集团与企业贷款机构富林资本就一笔35万美元的贷款发生纠纷，这笔贷款发放给了Organica International Holdings，并由该上市集团担保。

9 月 30 日，高等法院暂停了 Fullink 提起的破产程序，等待将 651,498.97 美元转入法院作为担保。

Mary Chia 坚持认为，提供担保并不等同于承认 Fullink 对所争议的索赔负有责任。

此外，该集团于 10 月 6 日宣布，计划通过向包括创始人 Mary Chia Ah Tow 在内的四位投资者发行 1 亿股新股筹集 100 万美元，以增强其财务实力并支持海外扩张。

截至 3 月 31 日，该集团的净流动负债约为 1258 万美元，现金和银行存款余额约为 31 万美元。

其独立审计师也对其截至 3 月 31 日止年度的财务报表发表了无法表示意见的意见，因为在包括员工成本、借款和集团持续经营能力在内的多个方面未能获得充分的证据。