While this is the second time a National Kidney Foundation (NKF) chief executive has been embroiled in a scandal, leaders in the charity sector were quick to draw a distinction between the two incidents.

They said the fallout from Mr Edmund Kwok’s sacking is not likely to affect the NKF much.

The key difference is that the dismissal of Mr Kwok, 58, has nothing to do with money matters, or “stewardship of finances”, as NKF chairman Koh Poh Tiong put it. He was sacked for a “personal indiscretion” involving a male employee.

In contrast, details of former NKF chief executive T.T. Durai’s $600,000-a-year pay cheque and first-class perks, his involvement in manipulating patient numbers as well as misusing donations enraged donors and drove them away.

These revelations emerged when Mr Durai sued Singapore Press Holdings in 2005 over a Straits Times report that said he had a gold-plated tap in his office toilet. Mr Durai and the entire board stepped down in the wake of public outrage.

The Venerable Seck Kwang Phing, president of the Singapore Buddhist Federation, said: “We have to separate a personal indiscretion from an organisational problem. If it’s a personal problem that affects his behaviour, I don’t think this will affect donor confidence or our confidence (in the NKF).”

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NKF sacks CEO Edmund Kwok over ‘personal indiscretion’

Source:

The Straits Times

Berita Harian

Shin Min Daily News

Dr Gordon Ku, founder of the Kidney Dialysis Foundation, was less sanguine about donor reaction, as this is the second scandal at NKF. But he applauded its management for taking swift action once it was alerted to the problem.

At yesterday’s press conference, Mr Koh said the charity never recovered from the Durai fallout. From a peak of about 250,000 during Mr Durai’s tenure, donor numbers fell to about 146,000 when Mr Koh joined as chairman in 2012. Now there are about 160,000.

Other charity leaders said Mr Kwok’s sacking should not lead to a major fallout or shake confidence in the charity sector as a whole, as this was an isolated incident involving one man’s private life and not a systemic governance problem.

Patient Richard Tay, 55, and a sales director, was initially worried that the sacking may affect NKF operations. He said: “But I don’t think we will be affected because even after the Durai saga, our treatment and subsidies did not stop. I think the organisation did the right thing because if they found a fault, it is only right that they correct it.”

According to NKF’s website, the charity received about $22 million in cash donations in its last financial year, which ended in June.

Read also: NKF sacks CEO Kwok over ‘personal indiscretion’

NKF had no choice but to sack CEO Edmund Kwok, says chairman

This article was first published on Nov 17, 2016.
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Swiber Holdings said yesterday that it is under investigation by the white-collar crime-fighting unit of the Singapore police for possible breach of the Securities and Futures Act.

The offshore oil and gas contractor collapsed under a mountain of debts and legal claims and sought judicial management in July.

The Singapore-listed company said in a statement yesterday that it had received a notice dated Nov 15 from the Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) that it was being investigated for an offence under the Securities and Futures Act.

The Act governs activities and institutions involved in the capital markets.

It is unclear what the possible offence is, but the Singapore Exchange (SGX) had on Oct 31 reprimanded the company for misleading investors about a US$710 million (S$1 billion) project award in West Africa that Swiber announced in December 2014.

In that announcement, Swiber said it would start work on the project from the first quarter of 2015, ahead of an expected completion in the middle of 2017.

Read also: Troubled Swiber Holdings’ CEO quits​

After that announcement, there was no update by Swiber until July 8, when it told shareholders that the project had not been able to progress according to schedule and that Swiber and its subsidiaries had in fact recognised zero revenue from the project.

The SGX said in its reprimand that it had referred the case to the relevant authorities.

Swiber said yesterday that the CAD did not disclose further details about its investigations, but it requested access to certain information concerning Swiber, its two wholly owned offshore marine engineering units Swiber Offshore Construction and PAPE Engineering, as well as Swiber Corporate, its corporate services arm.

The CAD wanted access to all announcements submitted by these entities to the SGX, including any draft versions and comments made by directors or any other relevant personnel, as well as the corporate secretarial documents, documents pertaining to certain projects, IT equipment and corporate e-mails, accounting records and order books dating from Jan 1, 2012, up until the present.

Swiber, which had a market value of $51 million when it collapsed at the end of July, owed DBS $721 million and bond holders $551.8 million.

It was placed under judicial management on Oct 6.

The company said it would cooperate fully with the CAD in its investigations.

Read also: The last days of Swiber​

SGX confirms Swiber probe

This article was first published on Nov 17, 2016.
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The Singapore economy could sink into a technical recession this year amid fallout from the United States election results, weak global growth and rising market volatility, said OCBC economist Selena Ling.

This could tip over into a full-blown recession next year, given the cloudy outlook, she said at a briefing yesterday.

The economy shrank 4.1 per cent in the July to September period compared with the previous quarter – the biggest slump since 2012.

Another quarter of contraction would push Singapore into a technical recession, defined as two consecutive quarters of decline in economic output.

The economy is projected to expand by 1 to 2 per cent this year, in what is likely to be the slowest year since the global financial crisis.

There are few encouraging signs even for next year. The Singapore economy is facing a growing slate of risks going into 2017 – most notably, uncertainties over the impact of a Trump presidency, Ms Ling said.

While it remains to be seen how much of President-elect Donald Trump’s election campaign rhetoric will translate into actual policies, there are concerns that the aggressively anti-trade stance he took while campaigning could weigh on world trade, she noted.

This would be bad news for Singapore’s small, open economy, which is already suffering from a slowdown in global trade.

Meanwhile, the US dollar has strengthened significantly against Asian currencies, buoyed by expectations that Mr Trump’s plans for huge spending projects will drive up inflation in the US.

As a result, investors are betting that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates more aggressively next year to keep prices under control.

This is fuelling worries that funds will flow out of Asia to the US, which would lead to even more currency volatility. The greenback has spiked against the Singdollar in the wake of the US elections. One US dollar could buy S$1.42 yesterday, up from S$1.39 on Nov 8.

Ms Ling said small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) will be hardest hit as consumers tighten belts amid short-term woes. There are expectations that the 2017 Budget might offer some respite. Ms Ling said there is scope for the Government to provide short- term relief, for instance, by helping SMEs alleviate rental costs, and improving their access to financing.

But the Singapore economy is also facing some longer-term challenges, including remaining competitive in the face of rapid disruptive change, she added.

This article was first published on November 17, 2016.
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Former BSI banker Yeo Jiawei was so close to controversial Malaysian tycoon Jho Low that he slept at his apartment, flew on his private jet and even wore his clothes, a court heard yesterday.

The claims arose yesterday as Yeo’s previous testimony, including claims over referral fees he reaped and his relationship with Mr Low, came under intense scrutiny by prosecutors.

Yeo, who faces four counts of witness tampering, has repeatedly downplayed his close ties to Mr Low, who is under investigation here and elsewhere over money-laundering claims linked to scandal-hit Malaysian state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).

Yeo claimed that he had never been employed by Mr Low nor had he ever “received a single cent” from the high-living financier.

But Deputy Public Prosecutor Tan Kiat Pheng, in cross-examining Yeo yesterday, pointed to inconsistencies in his testimony about his first meeting with Mr Low.

He also accused Yeo of lying about what he did in Hong Kong before returning to Singapore.

Yeo had testified that he spent several hours at the Hong Kong airport. But DPP Tan said: “You were actually spending that time in Jho Low’s house. You slept at his house. And because you didn’t have any clothing with you, you even wore Jho Low’s clothing. You lied because you’re trying to downplay your relationship with Jho Low.”

Yeo replied: “I disagree because the prosecution was going to ‘up-play’ it. Jho Low is just a client of mine.”

BSI Bank caught in 1MDB scandal

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The prosecution also sought to discredit Yeo’s testimony on why the referral fees were paid.

The court was told the true purpose of incorporating two firms that Yeo and his former boss, Mr Kevin Swampillai, beneficially owned was to hide the fact that they were receiving “secret profits”.

Prosecutors said Yeo had arranged for these two firms to receive a significant portion of referral fees or “secret profits” for their own benefit.

Under the arrangement, a portion of the management fees paid by 1MDB unit Brazen Sky to fund manager Bridge Partners Investment Management (Cayman) went to a firm called Bridge Global Managers before passing to the companies owned by Yeo and Mr Swampillai.

Mr Tan asked Yeo how these payments could be justified: “I put to you that there was no further necessity to distribute the money downstream” to the firms owned by Yeo and Mr Swampillai.

Yeo disagreed, saying it was Mr Swampillai’s plan to eventually have Bridge Global Managers take over Bridge Partners using funds held by the two firms.

The prosecution also pointed to inconsistencies in Yeo’s testimony regarding the Commercial Affairs Department (CAD).Yeo had testified that he could not recall if the CAD had warned him not to meet with witnesses. But in a statement to the CAD on April 27 this year, Yeo wrote that he had in fact been been warned not to do just that.

Yeo said yesterday that he was “afraid he would get charged” if he admitted to the CAD that he had met Mr Swampillai and Mr Samuel Goh on March 27 after they had been questioned by the CAD.

Yeo was accused of telling Mr Goh on March 27 to lie to the police and claim the funds he transferred to the firms owned by Yeo and Mr Swampillai were his own money.

DPP Tan maintained that Yeo withheld information about the March 27 meeting from the CAD because he was “afraid that his and Mr Swampillai’s illicit transactions… would be discovered”.

Yeo, who faces four counts of witness tampering, has repeatedly downplayed his close ties to Mr Low, who is under investigation here and elsewhere over money-laundering claims linked to scandal-hit Malaysian state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).

This article was first published on November 17, 2016.
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The National Kidney Foundation (NKF) had no choice but to sack its chief executive officer Edmund Kwok, given the seriousness of his offence against a male colleague, said the organisation’s chairman.

Mr Koh Poh Tiong said he was both disappointed and extremely sad because “Edmund was a very good CEO”.

“He’s one of the best CEOs I’ve worked with,” he said.

Speaking to the media last night, Mr Koh said NKF’s 11-member board was unanimous in deciding that strong and swift action had to be taken because one man’s personal indiscretion “cannot and must not affect the whole organisation”.
From the time the incident took place, it took just eight days for NKF to investigate, seek legal advice and then fire Mr Kwok, 58

Mr Kwok’s “personal indiscretion”, which The Straits Times understands to be of a sexual nature, occurred on Nov 7.

The following day, the employee complained to his supervisor.

Since the department head was away, the complaint did not reach the human resource department until Wednesday. Mr Koh was told the same day.

352513

2016-11-17 11:06:17

Photo Gallery

NKF sacks CEO Edmund Kwok over ‘personal indiscretion’

Source:

The Straits Times

Berita Harian

Shin Min Daily News

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Then came a hectic period.

“We have been working day and night. We have been having two hours of sleep,” said Mr Koh, who consulted endlessly with the directors, board members and lawyers.

On Friday, he told Mr Kwok about the complaint. Mr Kwok admitted that the incident had occurred.

The organisation’s lawyers advised Mr Koh that what happened was a “reportable offence”.

An emergency board meeting was convened on Friday, and a decision was made to hold a disciplinary hearing in order to be fair to Mr Kwok, so he could give his side of the story.

The disciplinary hearing, conducted by a three-member panel chaired by board member William Wan, was held on Sunday afternoon. Dr Wan said Mr Kwok again admitted to the facts of the case.

On Monday, Mr Kwok’s employment with NKF was formally terminated.

A police report was made on Tuesday, and a media statement was issued yesterday. This was followed in the evening by a press conference at its headquarters in Kim Keat Road, off Balestier Road.

Mr Koh said the board had all agreed that there would be “no cover-up”. He said: “I am very proud of the board. We decided swiftly, unequivocally.”

Added Dr Wan: “We have a duty to stakeholders, to our staff, to do the right thing. The public must know that as a board, we take our job seriously… that our integrity is not compromised, our operations are not compromised.

“The only way to do that is to act the way we did. We terminated him on the lawyers’ advice on the nature of the offence.”

A third board member, Associate Professor Abdul Razakjr Omar, said: “When this incident happened, I was shocked. But at the end of the day, we have to do our job.”

In the three years that Mr Kwok has helmed the charitable organisation, he introduced night dialysis to help those who work in the day, started building a $12 million mega complex in Jurong that can care for 2,000 patients a week, and found jobs for patients who had become unemployed because of their need for thrice-weekly dialysis.

This is the second scandal to rock the NKF. In 2005, its then CEO T.T. Durai sued Singapore Press Holdings, which owns The Straits Times, over an article about a gold-plated tap in his office.

Revelations about Mr Durai’s $600,000-a-year pay cheque and first-class perks, and his involvement in manipulating patient numbers and misusing donations shocked the public and drove donors away.

TIMELINE OF WHAT HAPPENED

Monday, Nov 7: Mr Edmund Kwok commits “reportable offence” against male colleague.

Tuesday, Nov 8: The latter complains to his immediate supervisor.

Wednesday, Nov 9: The National Kidney Foundation’s human resource department informs NKF chairman Koh Poh Tiong.

Friday, Nov 11: The NKF board meets to discuss matter.

Sunday, Nov 13: A disciplinary hearing is convened by a three-member panel headed by board member William Wan. Mr Kwok admits to the incident.

Monday, Nov 14: Mr Kwok is formally dismissed.

Tuesday, Nov 15: Police report is made.

Wednesday, Nov 16: NKF issues statement that Mr Kwok has been sacked due to “personal indiscretion”; holds press conference.

This article was first published on Nov 17, 2016.
Get a copy of The Straits Times or go to straitstimes.com for more stories.