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By Karamjit Kaur, Aviation Correspondent
EIGHT aggrieved members of a luxury flying club which never got off the ground have banded together and hired legal help.
The Straits Times understands that a few of the more than 50 people who each paid from $15,000 to over $35,000 to sign up have also filed police reports against the organisation.
Members are upset because The Flying Club, which promised them a fleet of luxury jets, a flying school and classy clubhouses when it was launched more than a year ago, has delivered nothing.
Amid all the angst, the club - not linked to the Republic of Singapore Flying Club - called for a creditors' meeting yesterday and appointed BDO Raffles as liquidators.
It owes about 30 parties more than $500,000 but made clear that there was little money left in the kitty.
Those who were at the meeting told The Straits Times that apart from saying 'sorry' and blaming the economic downturn for the failed venture, Mr Nicklaus D'Cruz, the club's main shareholder and chief executive officer, said little else.
Member Ashley Sutch, an urban landscape designer who is among the eight that hired the lawyer, said: 'We met the liquidators after the meeting and have expressed our concerns to them.
'We want our money back and even if we do not get it, we want to know what the membership fees were spent on.'
The company has so far said that the funds were spent on trying to get the venture airborne.
This included renting hangar space at Seletar Airport for a few months to park its four leased aircraft, the first of which came in February.
All the jets have since been returned to their owner in Australia.
A deposit was also paid to rent space at Senai Airport in Johor, which was where The Flying Club had intended to build one of its two clubhouses.
The other proposed location was Seletar Airport.
Mr Sutch and fellow members are also asking questions about the relationship, if any, between The Flying Club and OAAG - a golf business owned by Mr D'Cruz.
Since the aviation club was established, it has operated out of OAAG premises at Kaki Bukit Place.
In April last year, The Flying Club sponsored the second leg of a golf competition organised by OAAG.
Mr Leow Quek Shiong, a partner in BDO's business restructuring division, said the team will be meeting the members' lawyers to address their concerns.
On whether there will be a scrutiny of The Flying Club's accounts to make sure that all is above board, Mr Leow said that while the Companies Act empowers liquidators to do so, there is no obligation.
The Straits Times understands that the issue is one of cost and if members are willing to foot the bill, the necessary checks will be done.
This article was first published in The Straits Times.
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