Cordlife's Ex-CEO, 4 directors arrested amid cord blood mishandling probe

SINGAPORE: Cordlife's former Group CEO, Tan Poh Lan, along with four company directors, has been arrested in connection with an investigation into the mishandling of cord blood units.

Cordlife received a notice on 19 March from the police’s Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), requiring documents and information related to an investigation under the Securities and Futures Act.

The company disclosed this in a bourse filing early Friday morning (22 March).

“The company understands that the offence is in connection with potential breaches of the disclosure obligations of the company in relation to the irregular temperatures of a certain cryogenic storage tank of the company, which was first disclosed by the company in its announcement dated 30 November 2023,” Cordlife said in the filing issued by the company secretary Low Mei Wan.

The company added that its Chief Financial Officer, Thet Hnin Yi, has been asked to assist with investigations but has not been arrested.

Besides Ms Tan, the others arrested are acting chairman Ho Choon Hou, independent directors Yeo Hwee Tiong and Titus Jim Cheong Tuck Yan, and non-independent non-executive director Chow Wai Leong.

All five individuals arrested, including Ms Tan, have been released on bail.

Ms Tan resigned in October 2023 to "pursue personal interests," before the incident involving damaged cord blood units was made public in November of that year.

Cordlife had announced that Ms Tan's last day with the company would be 31 March 2024.

Furthermore, four directors currently not based in Singapore are required to attend a police interview on 2 April.

These directors include former chairman Joseph Wong Wai Leung, who resigned earlier this year citing "personal family and health reasons," along with Mr Zhai Lingyun, Ms Chen Xiaoling, and Mr Yiu Ming Yiu.

“At the time of this announcement, the company has received undertakings from all the directors, Ms Tan Poh Lan and Ms Thet Hnin Yi, to inform the Board of the ongoing investigations and subsequent developments.”

The company reassured that operations will continue as normal and affirmed its commitment to fully cooperating with all regulatory authorities while keeping shareholders updated.

"In addition, depending on how the Investigations evolve, the Board will also consider the possibility of the appointment of new Independent Directors, to serve as additional checks and balances for the Company, " the statement wrote.

The mishandling of cord blood units became public knowledge on 30 November last year, when the Ministry of Health (MOH) announced ongoing investigations against the private cord blood bank.

The ministry had received a complaint from a member of the public on 24 July regarding alleged issues with a storage tank.

It later emerged that Cordlife's board was aware of the issue in February 2023.

In December last year, Health Minister Ong Ye Kung affirmed that depending on the findings of MOH's investigations, the authorities will follow up with the necessary regulatory and enforcement actions against Cordlife, given the severity of the breaches and the impact on clients.

n a press statement released last Thursday (30 Nov), the Ministry of Health (MOH) disclosed that during their investigation, the affected storage tanks were found to have been exposed to temperatures above the acceptable threshold of -150 degrees Celsius for cord blood units.

This exposure resulted in damage to approximately 2,200 cord blood units belonging to about 2,150 clients. Moreover, it potentially impacts an additional 17,000 clients, pending further investigation.

Subsequently, MOH ordered Cordlife to cease collecting, testing, processing, or storing new cord blood and human tissues for up to six months.