Dealings with the underworld Pt3

Case 1 : (not in porper order)

We manage to bag a RM60mil job subcontracted from a public listed company. The project was to build a few apartments for the army in an army camp. Margin was low but we still took it as we thought it will be good for the cashflow and also as a good opportunity to turn the tables around.

I managed to secure some financing from a few Towkahs I know and off we go.(Getting poeple onboard without fundamental understanding of the project proved to be another disaster inthe making for both parties. POst mortem note)

The project went well the first few months. Things went south when Chinese New YEAR was coming and subcontractors and suppliers are expecting a full payment, the pressure was intense.

The progress claim we put in to the client for Chinese New Year payment was around RM800k, we received RM200k, just enough to pay off the workers but nothing left for the suppliers.

People were camped outside my office waiting for payment. I have to scarmble for money and request more from investors, which of course they were not happy.

Gan just came into the picture not too long and he asked for a meeting with the client's MD. From what I heard he really bullied the poor guy like what he did to me and the guy came out with another RM200k.

I was sooo happy when I say the check and really thought I have finally met the guy who will save the company from falling apart! Needless to say things isn't always as it seems, or else I will not be writing this story.

We cashed te check and just made it through Chinese New Year. I was not a pleasant CNY for me that year, 2003 if not mistaken. I have to make hard decisions while worried about suppliers coming to my parents house during CNY for payment. (Another lesson learnt : the photocopied IC you submit when you sign up for your credit line with suppliers, thats the time it matters)

Finally we stopped the job after CNY demanding the client to relook into our contract rates to prevent the same issue from happening again. The client pretended to negotiate with me while at the back was secrectly meeting our 3 subcontractors to offer them to take up the job themselves. I found out when one of the subbies came to me, in view of our situation, we finally agreed not to pursue the issue anymore and walked off the project lest stuck in it with a bigger hole. (FYI the company is not PN17 in Bursa Malaysia)

Gan did his magic again and got us final settlement to close out the account, it was much lower than what we have committed but we did not have the will to pursue it legally.

So where is the catch. I ddi not realise the catch until much later, probably 1 year later when we were winding up the company. My investor who once thought I was his golden child become one of them on the other side, demanding repayment for his failed investment (luckily I kept him in the loop for all the dealings, which he had nothing much to complaint about as I consulted him on every major decision before we acted) was comparing books with me. He was accusing me of hiding RM300k from him from a payment from the army camp project client.

Apparently he went to the client and demanded for a set of accoutns before meeting up with me. I of course denied but deep down I knew I was screwed by Gan, he must have asked for the client to issue 2 cash checks and received it on behalf of the company.

That of course did not end well with my investor, Tan. (He never really believed my story) And that, is another story to learn how to pick your partner.