THE chief executive officer (CEO) of mainboard-listed logistics company Vibrant Group, Khua Kian Keong, is facing a charge in court after allegedly pushing the former chairman of KTL Global down some stairs.

According to a charge sheet seen by The Business Times, the alleged incident took place on Jan 13, 2021 at the staircase leading from level 2 to level 1 at 7 Gul Road. Khua, 52 - who was charged in the Singapore State Courts in January - was alleged to have pushed Tan Tock Han. Mr Tan suffered a fracture to his right shoulder.

Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority filings list 7 Gul Road as the registered address of KTL Offshore. The company has a director named Tan Tock Han, who was also previously executive chairman of mainboard-listed KTL Global until he resigned in December 2018.

Under Section 338(a) of the Penal Code, causing grievous hurt to any person by a rash act that endangers human life or the personal safety of others is punishable with imprisonment of up to four years, or a fine of up to S$10,000, or both.

Khua, who has been granted bail at S$10,000, has been chief executive of Vibrant since November 2003.

According to Vibrant's website, Khua is also council member of the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCCI) and vice-chairman of the Singapore-China Business Association.

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The case was mentioned in the Singapore State Courts on Wednesday morning, where lawyers representing the victim, Jennifer Lim and Lee Shu Xian of Infinitus Law Corporation, also turned up to hold a watching brief.

They sought clarification whether there was any direction under the bail terms to not allow the accused to come in contact with the victim or his family. Mr Tan, who is in his 70s, is the father of former KTL Global CEO Wilson Tan Kheng Yeow.

Khua's defence counsel, Nichol Yeo of Solitaire LLP, noted that the bail condition was to not contact the victim either directly or indirectly, with no expressed mention of the family.

The case was adjourned to April 7, pending clarification on a medical report. Mr Yeo said he was also seeking a document from the SCCCI in relation to a complaint lodged, as he was trying to address certain inconsistencies between the complaint and the facts of the alleged offence before finalising representations to the prosecution.

The SCCCI said in a statement to The Business Times that it has formed a disciplinary committee to look into the allegations.

Khua has been suspended from his position as SCCCI council member, pending investigation and the outcome of the criminal proceedings.

Vibrant Group shares closed unchanged on Wednesday at 10.6 Singapore cents.