Manmohanjit Singh, who helmed the national sports association (NSA) between 1991 and 2006, has demanded that it returns him $65,466, which he claims he loaned the association during his tenure.

He has sent letters of demand to Cuesports, asking for the money to be returned.

Manmohanjit claimed he forked out his own money to help the association pay off debts between 2005 and 2006.

The 57-year-old businessman declined to comment further, saying he was overseas and would leave the matter to his lawyers.

According to a legal letter obtained by The Straits Times, there were 'firm instructions to commence legal proceedings' if the deadline for repayment was not met.

The deadline expired last Friday.

Referring to an earlier notice sent to Cuesports in August, the letter also said that 'more than reasonable time' had been given for the association to pay up.

Said Manmohanjit's lawyer, S. Radakrishnan: 'We will wait for further instructions from our client before taking any action.'

Cuesports president Subhas Anandan, said he would appoint solicitors to look into the matter.

'Chances are, we will dispute his claim,' said the well-known criminal lawyer.

'Right now, we are focused on preparing our players for the South-east Asia Games.'

Subhas took over the Cuesports presidency in July last year, and found the association in bad financial shape.

The national body in charge of billiards, snooker and pool was saddled with debts amounting to $700,000, which has now been halved.

In December 2005, the Singapore Sports Council (SSC) suspended its funding to Cuesports, after discovering poor financial controls.

These have since been tightened, and the SSC funding resumed in February.

There was another setback in March, when former Cuesports secretary Richard Wee Kok Hiong was fined $5,000 by a court for forging claims.

During the association's annual general meeting in June, it was also revealed that up to $200,000 in cash cheques 'dating back several years' may be unaccounted for.

An internal investigation is still underway to determine if there had been any wrongdoing, said Subhas.

tvoon@sph.com.sg