National Kidney Foundation (NKF) chief executive Edmund Kwok was sacked due to a personal indiscretion involving a male employee, NKF said yesterday.
The employee complained to his supervisor on Monday last week, and the matter was brought up to the human-resources department.
A meeting with the NKF board was held last Friday night and it was decided that Mr Kwok would be sacked, said NKF chairman Koh Poh Tiong at a press conference held hours after the foundation issued a statement announcing the sacking.
A police report was made on Tuesday. Responding to media queries, the police confirmed that a report was lodged and investigations are ongoing.
“We acted immediately. We agreed that there will be no cover-up,” said Mr Koh.
“We want to be upfront with all our stakeholders.”
NKF is operating “as normal” and the incident had nothing to do with the “stewardship of finances”, he added.
Mr Koh said he was disappointed as Mr Kwok was one of the best CEOs he has worked with.
“I feel very disappointed. But, most importantly, I feel extremely sad.
“Edmund was a very good CEO. He was one of the best CEOs I have worked with,” he noted.
NKF board member William Wan, who was also at the press conference, said lawyers advised that the matter be reported to the police.
Dr Wan added: “We decided that it was serious enough to terminate him. The organisation is not about one man.
“We want this organisation not to be affected by one man’s misconduct.”
A timeline of events that led to the sacking of Mr Kwok was given to reporters at the conference yesterday:
Nov 7: The male staff involved complained to his immediate
supervisor.
Nov 9: Human resources
met with Mr Koh.
Nov 11: A board meeting
was fixed.
Nov 13: A hearing was held with Mr Kwok, and he
admitted to the indiscretion.
Nov 14: Mr Kwok was sacked.
The search for a new CEO has started and a few candidates have been identified.
In the interim, a three-member executive committee (Exco) appointed by the board, chaired by Mr Koh and supported by board members Bennett Neo and Johnny Heng, will assume all CEO duties and responsibilities until the middle of December.
Eunice Tay, former CEO of NKF, will then take over the responsibilities of the CEO from the Exco until a new CEO is found.
In a statement earlier in the day, NKF said its services to its 4,000 patients were not affected.
“Our operations are not affected by this matter and our services to patients and beneficiaries continue as per normal.”
Mr Kwok, 58, took up the reins of the NKF in 2013, after serving as chief operating officer under then CEO Mrs Tay.
He was formerly vice-president of oncology at Parkway Healthcare and held positions at Tan Tock Seng Hospital and the Institute of Mental Health.
The NKF was embroiled in a scandal in 2005 when it was revealed that then chief executive T. T. Durai lived a lavish lifestyle using funds raised by the charity.
The foundation pulled the plug on large-scale public fund-raising events after that.
But the NKF has since restructured after the scandal, with better corporate governance.
This article by The Straits Times was published in MyPaper, a free, bilingual newspaper published by Singapore Press Holdings.
