Posts Tagged ‘Dr John Huong’

Post-Enron, post-Shell, post-WorldCom, post-Parmalat, the collective knickers of the business world are in a twist about ethics, and rightly so. Deals are the building blocks of business. Enormous sums are at stake and the money belongs mostly to strangers, not neighbours. Without ethics to define deals and fair dealing, business will not get done.

Introduction by John Donovan:

Dr John Huong (right), the renowned former Shell Production Geologist who blew the whistle internally at Shell in respect of the oil and gas reserves fraud is the author of this article. It was written at a time when he was being sued for defamation by EIGHT Royal Dutch Shell companies in respect of postings made on this website under his name. Shell eventually withdrew the claim and settled a counterclaim brought by Dr Huong for wrongful dismissal.

Reflections on the Essay By Mr Thomas Stewart on Corporate Governance and the morals at workplace environment

By Dr John Huong read more

Above are screenshots from Shell Malaysia website taken 17 June 2011

Introduction by John Donovan

Many visitors to royaldutchshellplc.com are aware of past litigation involving several hundred thoroughly disgruntled employees of Shell in Malaysia who sued Shell on various grounds, including wrongful dismissal and allegations that Shell management made unlawful deductions from the employee retirement fund.

That was not the only recent litigation.

Eight Royal Dutch Shell Companies joined together to sue a former Shell Malaysia Production Geologist, Dr John Huong (right), to stop him blowing the whistle on management misdeeds, including fraudulently inflating claimed hydrocarbon reserves and putting employee lives at risk due to lax safety procedures. Shell buried Dr Huong in multiple injunctions and made repeated attempts to have him imprisoned before settling the entire litigation out of court. read more

By John Donovan

Twitter is currently flooded with people trying to identity parties who have obtained Super-injunctions in an attempt to hide embarrassing information from public scrutiny.

It is not widely known that Royal Dutch Shell has been a trailblazer in using draconian litigation to silence a conscience driven whistleblower who objected to Shell defrauding its shareholders and recklessly putting employees lives at risk.

In this case, it was a multinational oil giant trying to keep the lid on a potentially highly damaging story.
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The Defendant has gone on wild rampage with Alfred Donovan to consider any wrongdoing done by any Shell company around the world. He then extrapolates from the particular – individual instances of impropriety anywhere in the world – and reaches a general conclusion that the 8 Plaintiffs have been dishonest, engage in criminal conspiracy and criminal conduct generally.

Comment by Shell General Counsel Thavakumar Kandiah Pillai about reserves whistleblower, Dr John Huong, a production geologist
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“I also have doubts about the wisdom of allying yourself so closely and obviously to the Donovans, who seem to have raised Shell-baiting to such a level of vituperation (cleverly mixed with plenty of apparent balance and reasonableness) that it is difficult to see how either side can compromise without losing an unacceptable amount of face (Shell) or a rich and ongoing stream of damages (the Donovans).”

Richard

INTERESTING POSTINGS ON THE “TELL SHELL” INTERNET DISCUSSION FORUM FOR UNCENSORED, OPEN AND LIVELY DEBATE (BEFORE IT WAS FIRST SECRETLY CENSORED BY SHELL LAWYERS AND THEN CLOSED DOWN BY SHELL). POSTINGS MADE IN OCT 2005

Posted By Dr. John Huong (right) nickname: “none”: Subject:  Wakey Wakey on Freedom of Expression under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948 (United Nations): 01/10/2005 14:53:23

Wow, I’ve just read the posting below about the 2005 Accountability Rating – the article by Alfred Donovan- the owner of the worlds self proclaimed ultimate gripe site, ShellNews.net. I am baffled why Shell allows him to comprehensively tear Shell management to pieces on countless postings all over the Internet, including Shell’s own website – while I am not allowed the freedom to make criticism of Shell, my former employer of 29 years.

There has not been a peep from the Shell webmaster on this or any other issue for some time as fellow contributors have noticed. We seem to be on our own here guys! read more

“My deeply held religious beliefs and moral convictions put me into a very difficult position when I realised that Shell shareholders were being deliberately deceived in regards to hydrocarbon reserves: I also had reservations in regards to certain health and safety issues of conscience which caused me great concern because it is not in consonant with my values and belief system.”

Dr John Huong: an employee of Shell Malaysia for 29 years, a Production Geologist and Asset Integrity Engineer

By John Donovan

Dr Huong, a deeply religious man with high principles, blew the whistle internally on Shell senior managements deliberate inflation of claimed proven hydrocarbon reserves. As a consequence he was the subject of unprecedented collective litigation by EIGHT Royal Dutch Shell companies who waged a campaign of terror against him for several years trying to silence him.  He was buried alive in multiple injunctions, many seeking his imprisonment. This was in blatant breach of his human rights. read more

Honesty and Integrity once the pillars of culture in the Shell Group, no longer appear to exist.

John Scruton

Extracts from an email we received from Shell Whistleblower Dr John Huong (some personal information omitted)

From: huong john <[email protected]>
Date: 18 August 2004 14:00:32 GMT+01:00
To: John Donovan <[email protected]
Subject: RE: FW: SHELL WHAT ELSE no3

Dear Mr. Donovans,

Good evening. I pray that you are both in the best and that Mr. Donovans Senior have been to see the doctor for a check up.

I got news from my lawyers that the affidavit that was filed was acknowledged by the High Court and that they have written to the Shell Lawyers informing them of the application.  The Shell Lawyers have two weeks to respond from yesterday and the hearing will take place on 21st September 2004. After the case is set aside I will again start to contribute to your website if Shell is not going to start talking like gentlemen! read more

By John Donovan

Printed below is our most recent correspondence with Royal Dutch Shell Plc.

It is self-explanatory.

From: John Donovan <[email protected]>
Date: 2 February 2011 14:47:14 GMT
To: [email protected]
Cc: [email protected]
Subject: Section 7 (1) of the Data Protection Act

To:

Mr. Gavin White
Company Secretarial Department
Shell International Limited

Dear Mr. White

Section 7 (1) of the Data Protection Act

As you may be aware, my father Alfred Donovan and I reached an agreement with Royal Dutch Shell Plc Chief Ethics & Compliance Officer, Mr Richard Wiseman, that in future our Subject Access Request applications to Shell would be made on a joint basis i.e. in the names of Alfred and John Donovan. read more

OVERTON v. SHELL OIL COMPANY:

On December 22, 1999, Mr. Overton formally announced to Ms. Sistrunk that he was working with the Department of Interior and of his status as a whistleblower. On January 19, 2000, while Mr. Overton was working on MP252, federal agents boarded the platform armed with weapons and issued grand jury subpoenas based upon alleged violations of environmental regulations.

BY JOHN DONOVAN

We have already published articles revealing how Royal Dutch Shell terrorized a Malaysian whistleblower, the former Shell Production geologist, Dr John Huong. Dr Huong has accused Shell of psychological torture.

In the USA, there are Federal and State laws to protect whistleblowers from the retribution of malevolent employers such as Shell Oil.

The following are extracts of an email we received from William Overton, a Shell whistleblower who reported serious safety breaches on Shell production platforms operating in the Gulf of Mexico, including falsification by a Shell contractor of U.S. Mineral Management Service reports supplied to the U.S. Department of the Interior. read more

By John Donovan

As regular visitors will be aware, this website, which is operated on a dedicated high traffic server hosted in the USA,  is being brought down on a regular basis. By coincidence or otherwise,  it often seems to happen when we publish negative information about Royal Dutch Shell, such as in WikiLeak cables, or revelations concerning Shell Malaysia whistleblower, Dr John Huong.

“Distributed Denial of Service attack, it is when a server is bombarded with so many requests that it can’t respond to legitimate traffic.” read more

Article by Alfred Donovan

By June 2006 Shell Malaysia legal boss, Thavakumar Kandiah Pillai (right), had got himself into a most dreadful mess.

Two years earlier he had advised EIGHT different companies, all within the Royal Dutch Shell Group, to bring a collective defamation action against a former Shell Malaysia Production Geologist, Dr John Huong. The action was in respect of information published on an earlier version of this website, which I jointly own and operate with my son, John Donovan. read more

If you haven't seen the attached, it may interest you to know that the attached is a copy of Sarawak Shell Berhad/Sabah Shell Petroleum Company's internal management exchange which was leaked by one of the employees who is disgusted with Shell. You may take note that Shell cheats on paying the Retirement Benefit Fund resulting in the class action at Miri High Court by ex and current staff of Sarawak Shell Berhad/Sabah Shell Petroleum Company.

Shell lawyers to Dr Huong:

…positive steps must be taken by you to ensure that these notices must be given to all persons’, not only Donovan, who are able to operate and maintain the web site. As such by simply writing to Donovan to request him to remove your postings as you have done is not in full compliance with para 3 of the order of court. We therefore expect you to take all positive steps to ensure the postings are removed and deleted immediately.

By John Donovan

In June 2004, EIGHT Royal Dutch Shell companies collectively sued a former Shell Malaysia employee, Dr John Huong (above), for alleged defamation in respect of articles published on this website owned and operated by Alfred and John Donovan. The litigation involved multiple injunctions served against Dr Huong, including  committal proceedings demanding his imprisonment for exposing serious misdeeds by Shell senior management, including the filing of false information about claimed hydrocarbon reserves.
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I am very disappointed with Shell in the person of Mr. Thuvakumar for the psychological torture inflicted on me for almost four years.  In his affidavit affirmed on 6.11.2007 before the Commissioner of Oath, Mr. Thuvakumar and the Shell Counsel knew very well that I was not the author of the publications – the “Corruption crisis of the Malaysian Judiciary” and the “unlawful deduction” from the Employee’s Provident Fund from ex-Shell employees. He used the same tactics used from the outset of the litigation blaming me for internet publication by the Donovan’s over which I have no influence. read more

By John Donovan

After EIGHT companies within the Royal Dutch Shell Group collectively buried him in legal proceedings, including multiple injunctions, as part of a draconian defamation action in respect of allegations published on this website, former Shell production geologist, Dr John  Huong begun assembling evidence to substantiate that the allegations were true.

His efforts were hampered by sinister activities by Shell and repeated attempts by the Shell collective to have him committed to prison for alleged contempt of court in respect of further publications on this website. The High Court Judge told Shell to sue me, not Dr Huong, but Shell insisted for several years in terrorizing Dr Huong and his family to the extent, as already revealed, that he felt it necessary to use body guards. read more

By John Donovan

The email printed below from Shell Malaysia whistleblower Dr John Huong (right) to his lawyer, Trevor George De Silva, confirms that the High Court judge dealing with the defamation action brought against Dr Huong by EIGHT Royal Dutch Shell companies, told Shell that “they should sue John Donovan in the UK”.

Since that course of action was not one Shell lawyers wished to pursue, Shell eventually had to settle with Dr Huong. Shell lawyers had also undermined their case by engaging in criminal tampering of evidence to hide important information from the judge. In other words, Shell had perverted the course of justice. read more

May I asked you where you got all those information for your articles, the publication of which prompt Shell to take legal actions against me, in breach of my human rights and freedom?

Email received from Shell whistleblower Dr John Huong on 21 April 2008. We have provided hyperlinks to the articles he itemized.

Dear Mr. Donovans,

Good evening.

A few months ago, you wrote articles concerning the Malaysian judiciary System.  Can you confirm and tell me where the following articles were posted and the author and/or authors of those articles itemized from 1-3 below.

1. CORRUPTION CRISIS IN MALAYSIAN JUDICIARY IMPACTS ON SHELL LITIGATION

2. Malaysia: Judiciary and corruption (For obvious reasons the legal jurisdiction of choice for Shell)

3. HRH Sultan Azlan Shah speaks out on crisis in Malaysian judiciary.

Since posting those articles, were there any changes made to the document since then? read more

COMMENTS FROM A FORMER EMPLOYEE OF SHELL OIL USA ON RECENT ARTICLES PUBLISHED ON THIS WEBSITE

John

Part of Shell Brent Bravo oil platform falls into North Sea

I just read about the Brent ‘incident’. That ‘little problem’ should have been taken care of through a preventive maintenance inspection program long ago. Sea water is not only highly corrosive to steel, but cyclical loading caused by wave action can induce fatigue failure. Believe it or not, the useful life of an airplane or a submarine is determined by the number of pressurization cycles the fuselage or hull goes through. Oil tankers have a useful life based on the number of stress cycles the hull has undergone. Oil tankers have split in half because of hull fatigue failure. read more

At the age of 90 and with numerous aliments, the thought of ending up in a small room with only iron bars for a view and without air conditioning in a tropical climate, is not much of an incentive to make the trip. In other words, while pretending that my presence in court in Malaysian legal jurisdiction is essential, there is also more than a hint of intimidation attached to deter me from giving evidence in support of my sworn affidavit, which quite frankly, completely destroys Shell’s defamation case against Dr Huong. (Head cut image of Alfred Donovan courtesy of The Wall Street Journal)

Self-explanatory email correspondence between royaldutchshellplc.com owner Alfred Donovan and Michiel Brandjes, Company Secretary and General Counsel Corporate, Royal Dutch Shell Plc.

—–Original Message—–
From: Alfred Donovan [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: vrijdag 3 augustus 2007 12:26
To: Brandjes, Michiel CM RDS-LC
Cc: van der Veer, Jeroen J RDS-CEJV; Ollila, Jorma RDS-RDS/CH; Brinded, Malcolm A RDS-ECMB; Wiseman, Richard RM SI-LMAPF; ‘John Donovan’

Subject: THE DEFAMATION PROCEEDINGS AGAINST DR JOHN HUONG BROUGHT BY EIGHT ROYAL DUTCH SHELL COMPANIES read more

It is surely essential… that an even-handed approach is adopted… so that would be whistleblowers and parties with genuine grievances are not deterred by the prospect that they could be ostracized, victimized, sacked and/or sued if they do come forward.

2 February 2006

Jyoti Munsiff SCO
Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer
Royal Dutch Shell plc
Shell Centre, London SE1 7NA
Tel: +44 020 7934 3080 Fax: +44 20 7934 5140 Mobile: +44 7768 993 600
Email: [email protected]

Jyoti Munsiff,

Congratulations on your appointment as Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer for Royal Dutch Shell Plc.

As you know I am being sued by eight companies of the Royal Dutch Shell Group for alleged defamation. The relevant Shell companies have obtained a restraining order which prevents me for speaking the TRUTH in line with the United Nations Universal Declaration on Human Rights. My rights to freedom of expression have in fact been restrained for over 18 months. I had thought that Shell supported this UN Declaration, but it seems that this assumption must be incorrect. I would welcome your clarification on this point as I am sure that my analysis must be at fault? read more

It will soon be apparent to our readers from the extracts below, why Shell settled the Dr Huong litigation out of court. A very considerable pile of extremely smelly internal dirty laundry that Shell definitely did not want aired in open court, even in Malaysia.

By John Donovan

Dr John Huong, a former Shell geologist of almost 30 years standing was the FIRST SHELL employee to blow the whistle on the Shell reserves fraud (and other important issues relating to the misdeeds of Royal Dutch Shell management). He was not prepared to tolerate  the lives of Shell employees being recklessly put at risk.

As a result Shell was determined to silence him at all costs. Hence the unprecedented spectacle of EIGHT Royal Dutch Shell companies collectively bringing a defamation action against one former employee – an unemployed Malaysian who had no prospect whatsoever of finding alternative employment in his profession while the litigation cloud hung over the heads of himself and his family for several years. read more

Extracts from comments by Dr John Huong regarding Alfred Donovan and the right to criticize Royal Dutch Shell on the Internet

I am baffled why Shell allows him to comprehensively tear Shell management to pieces on countless postings all over the Internet, including Shell’s own website – while I am not allowed the freedom to make criticism on Shell, my former employer of 29 years.

For anyone who doesn’t know, it is a matter of public record that I am currently the subject of a High Court Injunction and a Retraining Order obtained collectively against me by eight Royal Dutch Shell Companies. As far as I know, I am the only person on the entire planet whose freedom of expression is being curtailed by a multinational Goliath. It’s a strange feeling.
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SOME ADVICE FOR INVESTORS FROM DR JOHN HUONG (RIGHT), A SENIOR SHELL INSIDER OF ALMOST 30 YEARS…

Investors – “You cannot be sure of Shell” growing your funds. Potential employees – do not trust your career and aspirations to Shell until you understand the true inside story. If Shell is unwilling to undergo radical change at every level in the organization for the better, Shell’s negative and evil ingrained cultures will ultimately destroy the little which remains of its former reputation.

Just consider the recent appalling headlines as follows.

The Independent: “Lies, cover-ups, fat cats and an oil giant in crisis”

The Guardian: “Trail of emails reveals depths of deceit at the heart of Shell”

The Scotsman: “Shell admits reserve ‘lies’”

Daily Telegraph: “Memos expose Shell’s years of lying”

London Evening Standard: “Shell bosses lied to the City”

Minneapolis Star Tribune: “Dutch/Shell Group exec was ‘sick and tired’ of lying”

(PART OF THE ADVICE THAT RESULTED IN DR HUONG BEING BURIED IN DEFAMATION PROCEEDINGS BY EIGHT ROYAL DUTCH SHELL COMPANIES BEFORE THEY DECIDED IT BEST TO SETTLE THE MATTER OUT OF COURT – SAME AS WITH THE NIGERIAN CASE AGAINST SHELL ALLEGING MURDER, TORTURE AND OTHER HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS BY SHELL AND ITS AGENTS/ACCOMPLICES. SHELL HAS ALSO SETTLED MULTIPLE CASES OF IP THEFT BEFORE THE ACTIONS CAME TO TRIAL.)

RELATED ARTICLE: Royal Dutch Shell terrorist tactics against Malaysian whistleblower read more

Comment by a former employee of Shell Oil USA on Dr Huong controversy

John,

Re: Your articles on Dr. John Huong.

How in Perdition’s good name do the Malaysian courts think that they have legal jurisdiction over what is published on your website? What the Devil is that BS all about?

Furthermore, in the UK RD Shell must prove their case in court and obtain a similar form of court order against Dr. Huong and you in order to prevent Dr. Huong from speaking out publicly, and you from publishing his comments. Without such a court order Dr. Huong and you both have your legally well protected rights of freedom of speech given that Dr. Huong no longer works for RD Shell. read more

By Dr. John Huong (right)

Below is a letter I last wrote on 3rd June 2004 to Shell Malaysian Management, hoping that if both sides entered into a constructive dialogue on a “without prejudice” basis, the matter could be resolved amicably despite the threats I had received on 17th May 2004 from their legal Manager Mr. Thavakumar Kandiahpillai.

It is significant that legitimate questions (“Confidentiality versus Shareholder’s interests”-25th May 2004) I posed to him about Shell’s ethical practices have remained unanswered. read more

By John Donovan

EXTRACTS FROM THE “STATEMENT OF CLAIM” FILED BY THE PLAINTIFFS (EIGHT DIFFERENT COMPANIES WITHIN THE ROYAL DUTCH SHELL GROUP) IN AN UNPRECEDENTED COLLECTIVE DEFAMATION ACTION AGAINST SHELL PRODUCTION GEOLOGIST DR JOHN HUONG (RIGHT) IN RESPECT OF POSTINGS PUBLISHED ON THIS WEBSITE.

The Plaintiffs further aver and will contend that the statements (in particular, the title) is false and constitute a grave libel on the Plaintiffs and each of them, as the words in their natural and ordinary meaning, mean or are understood to mean that: read more

Several years have now passed. Shell has spent tons of shareholder funds on draconian defamation legal proceedings with related injunctions and demands for the imprisonment of Dr. Huong. Ironically, despite a settlement between the parties, the same information is still being published on the same website. The litigation was a complete waste of time and money.

The Shell brand name has an entirely different connotation these days. It stands for deceit, cover-up, dishonesty, pollution, corruption, undercover spies, class action law suits, defective gasoline, exploitation of the poorest people on the planet; support of a murderous military regime, etc – arrogance and evil on a breathtaking scale.

(Verdict by Dr John Huong, a deeply religious, conscience driven production geologist – a Malaysian humanitarian and loyal Shell employee for 29 years)
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Because my stand on this matter in consonant with Shell Group Business Principles, its governance and with Malaysian national interests in mind, I made my concerns known internally at Shell. Shell made me feel that I had sinned for having a moral compass and a conscience.

My name is Dr John Huong. Until May 2003 I was a Shell geologist for almost 30 years – a management level employee of Shell Malaysia. I specialised in many areas of earth sciences including Micropalaeontology, Petrology, Sedimentology, Field Geology, Bio-Sequence Stratigraphy, Operation Geology, Exploration Geology, Reservoir Geology and Production Geology.  I am also conversant with Petrophysics, Petroleum Engineering (i.e. Well Engineering, Reservoir Engineering) and Petroleum Economics.  In the company, I belonged to the Malaysian Senior Staff Council (MSSC) and was once its Vice President. read more

By John Donovan

EXTRACTS FROM THE WISE WORDS OF SHELL WHISTLEBLOWER DR JOHN HUONG PROHIBITED BY THE MALAYSIAN COURTS FROM PUBLICATION ON THIS WEBSITE

When I started with Shell all those years ago I was proud to be an employee of what I considered to be nothing less than the best company in the world; an internationally respected brand and an equally highly respected management. It is a matter of the deepest regret to me that the company has sunk so law with its management acquiring global notoriety for participating in a disgraceful scandal which ranks alongside the likes of Enron and WorldCom. read more

By John Donovan

EXTRACTS FROM THE WISE WORDS OF SHELL WHISTLEBLOWER DR JOHN HUONG PROHIBITED BY THE MALAYSIAN COURTS FROM PUBLICATION ON THIS WEBSITE

Correspondence between Sir Mark Moody Stuart and Mr Richard Wiseman… shows the actual mentality of Shell Management in high places. This behaviour was inevitably imitated by executives in operating companies who followed and adopted the example of a ruthless and deceitful corporate culture practiced by those at the very top of the Royal Dutch Shell Group. read more

WISE WORDS OF SHELL WHISTLEBLOWER DR JOHN HUONG PROHIBITED FROM PUBLICATION BY THE MALAYSIAN COURTS

I will supply for publication further informed comment and revelations in the run up to Shell’s AGM… It will include examples of the toxic combination of  arrogance, greed, dishonesty, and blatant disregard for all ethical norms by Shell Management, that has culminated in the current shame heaped on the once proud Shell name.

In my experience Shell directors and Shell managers believe that truth is a precious commodity to be used as a last resort.  It has to be squeezed out of them. They prefer to deceive, make empty pledges (Shell’s code of ethics), intimidate, ostracize, hide information from their own shareholders, employees, the government who gave them the license to operate and, and finally retreating behind their army of lawyers for shelter whenever there is a prospect that management misdeeds will be exposed. read more

“For his audacity in raising the reserves issue, Dr Huong was demoted, appointed as an asset manager with responsibility for helicopter flights. Once again, his integrity got him into trouble when he raised concerns over helicopter safety, recording in internal documents that Shell employees were being used as guinea pigs on test flights.”

By John Donovan

Dr John Huong (right), a deeply religious Malaysian humanitarian, was a loyal Shell employee for 29 years. He was proud of Shell and its claimed business principles until he discovered that they are meant only to deceive stakeholders and the public about the true nature of the company.

Dr Huong, a production geologist, fell out with senior management when he refused to endorse the falsification of hydrocarbon reserve figures. He raised the related ethical dilemma in a Shell internal document: read more

REPLY TO THE LIVE CHAT QUESTION OF MUSAINT

By John Donovan

The EIGHT Shell Group companies collectively suing Dr Huong for alleged defamation have for several years buried him in High Court injunctions and applications seeking his imprisonment. The purpose of the multiple injunctions is to silence him. That background makes it dangerous to report events. Injunctions are meant to be temporary in nature pending a court hearing. They are not meant to drag on for several years. I do know from sources that due solely to an application by Shell, the court hearing for August 2008 has been put back to February 2009. read more

I will say one thing for Shell senior management based on your comments and my long experience of dealing with the top people at Shell. They are at least consistent; i.e. incompetent, disreputable and supportive of bullyboy tactics and corrupt practices.