Metrocon chairman resigns after charge over unlicensed worker dormitory that was discovered in Jan

Catalist-listed construction engineering company Metrocon Holding was formerly known as Hatten Land.

ST PHOTO: KELVIN CHNG

Published Nov 02, 2026, 11:30 AM

Updated Nov 02, 2026, 01:27 PM

SINGAPORE – Metrocon Holdings chairman Alvin Lim Yee Hong has resigned after being charged with allegedly allowing an unlicensed foreign worker dormitory to operate, the Catalist-listed company said on Nov 2.

The construction engineering company, formerly known as Hatten Land , also disclosed that Lim and another director had not informed its board or sponsor about earlier dealings with the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) regarding the matter, including interviews conducted during investigations.

The case concerns LBD Engineering, Metrocon’s controlling shareholder, where Lim, 35, also serves as general manager.

Neither Metrocon nor any of its subsidiaries has been charged.

LBD faces one charge for operating a foreign employee dormitory at 58A Sungei Kadut Loop without a valid licence between July 2025 and January 2026.

Lim faces a separate charge alleging that he knew LBD did not have a valid licence, but allowed it to continue operating the premises as a dormitory.

The first court hearing took place on Oct 29, with lawyers attending on behalf of Lim and LBD.

The next hearing is scheduled for Dec 17.

Lim intends to contest the charge, is seeking legal advice, and has told the company that he needs to devote substantial time and resources to personal matters arising from the case, leading to his resignation as non-executive and non-independent chairman effective Oct 29.

However, Lim has indicated that he wishes to be considered for reappointment to the board after the proceedings conclude.

Metrocon said any return would be subject to the nominating committee’s assessment and applicable regulatory requirements.

In its Nov 2 announcement, Metrocon set out the sequence of events based on information Lim provided to the board on Oct 29.

Its statement said MOM had inspected the Sungei Kadut dormitory on Jan 6, and informed LBD by e-mail the next day that the company was operating the premises without a licence under the Foreign Employee Dormitories Act.

LBD was then directed to relocate all occupants by Jan 9, which it did.

On Aug 5, MOM requested that Lim attend an interview on Oct 2, after which Lim was released on bail.

Metrocon’s non-executive and non-independent director Charlotte Tay Tingyin was also interviewed by MOM on Aug 7 to assist with investigations arising from the January inspection.

Tay had served as an LBD director from Dec 17, 2025, to Feb 13, 2026.

She subsequently acted as Lim’s bailor on Oct 2.

The board said it understood from Tay that she was only assisting with investigations, had not been charged and had received no further contact from MOM since Oct 2.

Explaining why the board and sponsor were not informed earlier, Metrocon said Lim and Tay did not consider the inspection and interviews to give rise to disclosure obligations because they concerned LBD rather than the listed group.

They therefore “inadvertently omitted” to notify the board and sponsor, the company said.

Apart from Lim and Tay, no other Metrocon director or key management personnel had been ordered or asked to assist with MOM’s investigations, according to the announcement.

The chairman’s position will remain vacant while the nominating committee identifies and evaluates a suitable candidate. In the interim, board meetings will be chaired by lead independent director Sim Mong Keang or a director elected by those present.

The board said it does not expect the recent developments to have a material impact on the group’s operations or financial performance for the year ending Dec 31.

Lim confirmed that the charge did not restrict LBD from continuing its construction business and that its projects were proceeding in the ordinary course. Meanwhile, Metrocon’s business transactions with LBD remained ongoing and unaffected, the announcement said. Metrocon listed on Catalist in September via a $28 million reverse takeover (RTO) of embattled Hatten Land, a Malaysia property developer whose shares had been suspended from trading since August 2024, when it entered judicial management.

Under the proposed terms, the acquisition was to be paid for through about 107.7 million new shares issued at 26 cents each to LBD. It now holds about 64% of Metrocon after purchasing additional shares following the RTO.

Shares of Metrocon were down almost 15% at 20 cents at noon on Nov 2.

在凯利板上市的建筑工程公司Metrocon Holding的前身是Hatten Land。

《海峡时报》摄影：KELVIN CHNG

发布于2026年11月2日上午11:30

更新于2026年11月2日下午1:27

新加坡——在凯利板上市的Metrocon Holdings公司于11月2日表示，该公司主席林义鸿（Alvin Lim Yee Hong）因涉嫌允许一家无证外籍劳工宿舍运营而被起诉，随后辞职。

这家建筑工程公司（前身为 Hatten Land）还透露，林和另一名董事没有将之前与人力部 (MOM) 就此事进行的交涉（包括调查期间进行的访谈）告知其董事会或赞助商。

该案涉及 LBD Engineering，Metrocon 的控股股东，35 岁的林先生也担任该公司总经理。

Metrocon及其任何子公司均未被起诉。

LBD面临一项指控，称其在2025年7月至2026年1月期间，在双溪加株环路58A号经营外籍员工宿舍时未持有有效许可证。

林某还面临另一项指控，指控他明知LBD没有有效许可证，却允许其继续将该场所作为宿舍经营。

第一次庭审于 10 月 29 日举行，林和 LBD 的律师均出席了庭审。

下次听证会定于12月17日举行。

林先生打算对指控提出异议，正在寻求法律建议，并已告知公司他需要投入大量时间和资源处理此案引发的个人事务，因此他于 10 月 29 日辞去非执行及非独立主席职务。

然而，林先生已表示，他希望在程序结束后能够再次被考虑任命为董事会成员。

Metrocon表示，任何回归都将取决于提名委员会的评估和适用的监管要求。

在 11 月 2 日的公告中，Metrocon 根据 Lim 于 10 月 29 日向董事会提供的信息，阐述了事件的经过。

声明称，人力部于 1 月 6 日检查了双溪加株宿舍，并于次日通过电子邮件通知劳工发展局，该公司违反了《外籍员工宿舍法》，在没有许可证的情况下经营该场所。

LBD随后被指示在1月9日之前搬迁所有住户，该公司也照做了。

8月5日，人力部要求林某于10月2日接受面谈，之后林某获得保释。

8 月 7 日，人力部也对 Metrocon 的非执行董事兼非独立董事 Charlotte Tay Tingyin 进行了问询，以协助调查 1 月份检查中发现的问题。

Tay曾于2025年12月17日至2026年2月13日担任LBD董事。

随后，她于 10 月 2 日担任了林某的保释人。

委员会表示，据Tay所述，她只是协助调查，并未被起诉，并且自10月2日以来未收到人力部的任何进一步联系。

Metrocon 解释为何没有更早通知董事会和发起人时表示，Lim 和 Tay 认为此次检查和面谈不构成披露义务，因为它们涉及的是 LBD 而不是上市集团。

该公司表示，因此他们“无意中遗漏”了通知董事会和赞助商。

公告称，除林和郑之外，Metrocon 的其他董事或主要管理人员均未被命令或要求协助人力部进行调查。

在提名委员会遴选和评估合适人选期间，主席职位将继续空缺。在此期间，董事会会议将由首席独立董事沈梦强或由出席会议的董事选举产生。

董事会表示，预计近期事态发展不会对集团截至 12 月 31 日的年度运营或财务业绩产生重大影响。

林先生证实，该项指控并未限制LBD继续开展建筑业务，其项目也在正常进行中。公告还指出，Metrocon与LBD的业务往来仍在继续，未受影响。Metrocon于9月通过2800万美元的反向收购（RTO）在凯利板上市，收购方是陷入困境的马来西亚房地产开发商Hatten Land。Hatten Land自2024年8月进入司法管理程序以来，其股票一直处于停牌状态。

根据拟议条款，此次收购将通过向LBD发行约1.077亿股新股支付，每股价格为0.26美元。在反向收购完成后增持股份后，LBD目前持有Metrocon约64%的股份。

11月2日中午，Metrocon的股价下跌近15%，至20美分。