“FAILED TO PERFORM THEIR DUTIES”
SingPost had said in a Singapore Exchange filing on Sunday that it commenced investigations after the whistleblowing report about the group’s non-regulated international e-commerce logistics parcel business was filed earlier this year.
The report alleged that there were manual entries of certain delivery status codes by SingPost’s international business unit. These were for international transhipment parcels which the company had agreed to deliver under an agreement with one of its largest customers.
The manual entries were allegedly done without basis or supporting documentation and with the intention of avoiding contractual penalties under the agreement.
Following an investigation, disciplinary proceedings were brought against three managers – Mr Phang, Mr Yik and Mr Li Yu, chief executive of SingPost’s international business unit – who were directly involved in the matter. It was found that they had committed serious breaches of the company’s code of conduct, SingPost said.
The senior executives were found to have performed or approved manual “delivery failure” status codes for parcels, even though no delivery attempt had been made and without supporting documents.
A whistleblowing report on the same matter was also sent to the Infocomm Media Development Authority of Singapore, said SingPost.
SingPost said that the three senior executives were found to be “grossly negligent” in relation to their handling of internal investigations into the whistleblowing reports and renewal of the related agreement.
They also had “omitted to consider material facts that compromised their decision-making and/or failed to perform their duties responsibly and reliably”.
In particular relation to the handling of the whistleblowing reports, SingPost said it was found that Mr Phang, Mr Yik and Mr Li had “accorded undue weight” to the misrepresentations by representatives of the international business unit’s operations team.
They did so without any independent substantiation or evidence, and had, in turn, made various serious misrepresentations to the audit committee, said SingPost.
Given the seriousness of these lapses and findings, SingPost said its had board lost confidence and trust in the judgment of the three senior executives and in their ability to perform their duties towards promoting and protecting the interests of the company.
Disciplinary proceedings against Mr Phang, Mr Yik and Mr Li concluded at the close of business on Friday. Their employment was terminated with immediate effect on Saturday, and a police report was also made against them, said SingPost.
