An ousted director of Oculus is suing the company for salary and bonuses he claimed were not paid to him.
In his writ, Jan Tangkilisan alleged that the company owes him bonuses for last year and this year, salary for the period of June to when he was terminated on July 23, and his termination compensation. Altogether this amounts to $56,854.83, and in addition, he is also claiming damages and legal costs.
The writ, which was filed in the subordinate courts earlier this month, claims that he asked for the payment by mid-August, but did not receive any.
Mr Tangkilisan also said in the writ that the company was supposed to give him a form releasing him from his employment with Oculus - Form IR 21 - by the time he was terminated, but to date, the company has not.
Because of this, he claimed that he was unable to change his employment pass and start work with his new employers, Crown Equity Resources. He is suing Oculus for the delivery of Form IR 21 as well.
When contacted by BT, Nicholas Narayanan, a director at Oculus, contested Mr Tangkilisan's claims: 'We confirm receipt of the writ of summons and have filed a memorandum of appearance in court today.'
He added, 'The company denies that it is indebted to Mr Tangkilisan and will be contesting his baseless claim vigorously.'
He said the company will also be filing a counterclaim, the details of which will be announced in due course.
Executive director Jan Tangkilisan was voted off the board at the company's AGM in July and new independent directors installed. This comes after new shareholders, in the form of Indonesian businessman Edwin Sugiarto, took over the company.
Oculus, the troubled eye-care company, has faced numerous controversies this year ranging from misplaced trust monies to illegal and unauthorised share transfers.
This article was first published in The Business Times on September 11, 2008.
