SINGAPORE: It has been more than eight months since Raymond (not his real name) received his full salary from his employer, TechTV Network, a media and events company.
The man, in his mid-50s, has not been paid his monthly wage of S$9,000 (US$7,000) since October 2024. His Central Provident Fund (CPF) contributions stopped even earlier, in June last year.
Instead, his employer has only given him irregular payments of up to S$1,000 at a time. Excluding CPF, his salary arrears currently amount to about S$55,000.
Despite this, Raymond continued working, clinging to assurances from TechTV’s founder and CEO Debbie Lee, who claimed that she was in the process of securing funds from unnamed “stakeholders” to pay the workers.
“I am pushing through in the hope that the company will pay me, the company will get a larger tranche of funds, because I continue to bring in the deals, because that’s the kind of hope she’s giving,” he said.
In emails to employees, Ms Lee attributed salary delays to a lack of sales made by the team. “You can play a part to support the sales CF (cash flow) so that both yourself and the team can benefit with allocation,” she wrote.
CNA also saw text messages Ms Lee sent to Raymond and other employees, in which she cited delays in banking procedures as reasons why funds were not available to pay them.
“It was always ridiculous, unbelievable reasons,” said Raymond, who recalled that a sick investor was once given as another excuse. Nonetheless, for months, he held out hope of being compensated.
Over time, he had trouble footing his bills and mortgage. The stress took a toll on his health and sleep. He began to feel his employer had taken advantage of him.
“I now realise that it was all lies,” the father of one told CNA. “I feel very angry I’m having financial difficulties.”
