SINGAPORE — Given that it has accepted that the situation in Aljunied-Hougang-Punggol East Town Council (AHPETC) is serious, the Workers’ Party (WP) will be expected by the public to “set things right”, said Law and Foreign Minister K Shanmugam.

Noting that questions arising from the Auditor-General’s adverse findings on the town council remain unanswered, the minister added that there would “have to be other consequences” for its “clearly unlawful” conduct, apart from amendments to the Town Councils Act to enforce tougher standards.

“There are other legislations, as well as common law. I choose my words carefully. I have said the actions are unlawful. I mean that that’s based on my knowledge and on legal advice,” said Mr Shanmugam.

“We’ll have to see what they do. But I don’t see much sincerity, seriousness based on what they have said in Parliament.”

Lapses in AHPETC uncovered by the Auditor-General, including its transactions with companies owned by the town council’s office holders, generated intense debate in Parliament over two days last week, after National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan moved a motion for members to note with concern the findings.

All 85 Members of Parliament present, including nine WP MPs, approved the motion on Friday.

Although the opposition party maintained that there was no evidence of loss of money or fraudulent activity, Mr Shanmugam’s charge of “unlawful” conduct by AHPETC and a breach of fiduciary duties by the WP’s elected MPs sparked questions of how the matter would be dealt with.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a community event in his Chong Pang ward yesterday, the minister reiterated that the WP had not answered why it had hidden information from its auditors, nor what it would do to recover monies that had been lost — the town council’s managing agent had been found to have overcharged, for instance.

“Those are important questions, because these are people’s monies. There will have to be other consequences ... we’ll have to see what they do,” he said. “We apply strict standards to any other company or any other town council. You know what Singaporeans will expect. They will expect things to be set right. We want to see what actions are going to be taken to set things right.”

Meanwhile, Government Parliamentary Committee for Home Affairs and Law chairman Hri Kumar Nair, who is a lawyer, said unlawful conduct can refer to any behaviour that gives rise to civil or criminal liability.

Reiterating his and other PAP MPs’ calls for the WP to carry out a forensic audit of AHPETC’s books, he told TODAY: “If it turns out that there was no breach and no monies were lost, then the report will say so. But if it turns out that there was a breach and monies were lost, then they should take action against the relevant parties.

“If they have nothing to hide, they should have no problem commissioning it,” he added.