Cordlife also said on Thursday, that in February, it had received notice of a claim lodged against it in the Small Claims Tribunal (SCT) by another client.
The claim alleged that the damage to the client’s child’s cord blood unit was a result of Cordlife’s storage of the unit. The claim amount was not stated. Matters dealt with by the Small Claims Tribunal have a claim limit of S$20,000 and lawyers are not allowed to represent parties.
In the SGX filing, the company said it was unable to determine the exact financial impact of the claim in the letter of the demand.
“Should the Company be ultimately required to settle the claim in the Letter of Demand, the SCT Claim and/or claims made by multiple clients, this will likely result in a negative impact on the financial position of the Group for the financial year ending Dec 31, 2024,” said Cordlife.
So far, seven directors or former directors have been arrested in connection Cordlife’s alleged mishandling of the cord blood, including former Group CEO Tan Poh Lan. On Apr 17, Cordlife’s board of directors lodged a police report over the “potential wrongdoings” of former employees.
The cord blood bank has offered customers a refund of annual fees “since the start of temperature excursion” and promised to waive subsequent fees until their child turns 21.
However, some customers told CNA in April that they were not satisfied with Cordlife’s offer, citing that it lacked fairness.
Some parents told CNA then that they would not accept Cordlife’s refund offer or that they were weighing their options, including legal action.
Customers who do accept the refund offer must agree to four clauses – one of them being accepting the offer as a “final settlement”.
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