National Kidney Foundation Singapore scandal
Encyclopedia
The National Kidney Foundation Singapore scandal, also known as the NKF saga, NKF scandal, or NKF controversy, was a July 2005 scandal
Scandal
A scandal is a widely publicized allegation or set of allegations that damages the reputation of an institution, individual or creed...

 involving National Kidney Foundation Singapore
National Kidney Foundation Singapore
The National Kidney Foundation Singapore is a Singapore-based foundation running kidney dialysis and prevention programmes. It is fully supported by charity donations.-Beginnings:...

 (NKF) following the collapse of a defamation trial which it brought against Susan Long and Singapore Press Holdings (SPH). This caused a massive backlash and fallout of donors to the charity, and subsequently resulted in the resignation of Chief Executive Officer T.T Durai and its board of directors.

Allegations surrounding the scandal included the false declarations on how long NKF's reserves could last, its number of patients, installation of a golden tap in Durai's private office suite, his salary, use of company cars and first-class air travel
First class travel
First class is the most luxurious class of accommodation on a train, passenger ship, airplane, or other conveyance. It is usually much more expensive than business class and economy class, and offers the best amenities.-Aviation:...

. Former NKF patron Tan Choo Leng
Tan Choo Leng
Tan Choo Leng is the wife of Goh Chok Tong, who was the second Prime Minister of the Republic of Singapore from November 26, 1990 to August 12, 2004 and Senior Minister....

, wife of Senior Minister
Senior Minister
Senior Minister is a political office in the political system of Singapore taken by a prime minister or senior cabinet minister when he or she retires from that office, but still has something to offer the government based on his or her long experience...

 Goh Chok Tong
Goh Chok Tong
Goh Chok Tong is the Senior Minister of Singapore and the chairman of the central bank of Singapore, the Monetary Authority of Singapore. He also served as the second Prime Minister of the Republic of Singapore from 28 November 1990 to 12 August 2004, succeeding Lee Kuan Yew, the former Prime...

, sparked further outrage when she remarked that T.T Durai's pay of "S$
Singapore dollar
The Singapore dollar or Dollar is the official currency of Singapore. It is normally abbreviated with the dollar sign $, or alternatively S$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies...

600,000 a year is peanuts
".

President of the National Council of Social Service, Gerard Ee
Gerard Ee
Gerard Ee Hock Kim Born in 1949, Ee became a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales in 1972. In 1974 Ee began his career as an accountant, becoming a practicing auditor in 1976. Ee was made a Partner of the Ernst and Young accounting firm, where he remained in the...

, has since been appointed as interim chairman of the organisation. A full independent audit on its finances was conducted by KPMG
KPMG
KPMG is one of the largest professional services networks in the world and one of the Big Four auditors, along with Deloitte, Ernst & Young and PwC. Its global headquarters is located in Amstelveen, Netherlands....

, and a 442-page report released on 19 December 2005 revealed several malpractices by the former NKF board and management. Durai was arrested on 17 April 2006 and charged under the Prevention of Corruptions Act by the Police
Singapore Police Force
The Singapore Police Force is the main agency tasked with maintaining law and order in the city-state. Formerly known as the Republic of Singapore Police , it has grown from an 11-man organisation to a 38,587 strong force...

. A S$12 million civil suit to recover funds by the new NKF board against Durai and four other former board members began on 8 January 2007.

Early accusations

In August 1997 and December 1998, NKF volunteer Archie Ong and aero-modelling instructor Piragasam Singaravelu respectively were hauled to court separately for defamation when both said that T.T. Durai had been flying first class
First class travel
First class is the most luxurious class of accommodation on a train, passenger ship, airplane, or other conveyance. It is usually much more expensive than business class and economy class, and offers the best amenities.-Aviation:...

. The former mentioned in April 1997 that the NKF "squandered monies" in a casual conversation with former chairman of NKF's finance committee Alwyn Lim, while the latter has claimed that he had personally seen Mr Durai in Singapore Airlines
Singapore Airlines
Singapore Airlines Limited is the flag carrier airline of Singapore. Singapore Airlines operates a hub at Changi Airport and has a strong presence in the Southeast Asia, East Asia, South Asia, and "Kangaroo Route" markets...

' first-class cabin. Both paid an undisclosed amount of damages to the NKF, and apologised. News of the suit affected Ong's cancer-suffering father, who eventually died in hospital. Shortly after the 2005 scandal broke, Ong mentioned to the press that he felt "fully vindicated now. I had more than a hundred calls today to wish me well."

In 1999, NKF tracked down and again took legal action against Tan Kiat Noi, who allegedly circulated an e-mail from her company e-mail on 5 April, claiming that "the NKF did not help the poor and needy, paid its staff unrealistically high bonuses" and discouraged members of the public from donating. She later published a public apology on local broadsheets The Straits Times and Lianhe Zaobao, and paid a total of S$
Singapore dollar
The Singapore dollar or Dollar is the official currency of Singapore. It is normally abbreviated with the dollar sign $, or alternatively S$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies...

50,000 in damages. 48 additional workers who forwarded the same e-mail were also sued by the organisation, but the suit was later dropped in consideration that they would face possible financial hardships. Days since the 2007 civil suit began, there have been calls by the public to redress the grievances of the three abovementioned whistle-blowers.

In 2001, the National Council of Social Service
National Council of Social Service
The National Council of Social Service is a statutory board governed by the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports of the Singapore government....

 refused to renew the NKF's "Institution of Public Character" (IPC) status (which allows it to collect tax-free donations), citing that subsidy figures had been inflated, staff costs had increased by 30% and a "disproportionate" amount of money was spent on fundraising. Concerns were first raised by both by the Health Ministry and NCSS two years ago. However, the former decided to intervene in January 2002 and reinstated the NKF's IPC status for a full three years.

Allegations in article

The Straits Times
The Straits Times
The Straits Times is an English language daily broadsheet newspaper based in Singapore currently owned by Singapore Press Holdings . It is the country's highest-selling paper, with a current daily circulation of nearly 400,000...

 published an editorial "NKF: Controversially ahead of its time?" on 19 April 2004, written by senior correspondent Susan Long. This article became the subject of the dispute, and eventually the lawsuit that led to the scandal. Durai and NKF challenged the first six lines of the article, which claimed that a retired contractor (who declined to be named, for fear of being sued) had 'lost it' when he was asked to install "a glass-panelled shower, a pricey German toilet bowl and a (S$1,000) gold-plated tap" in Durai's office. The tap was said to have been replaced later with a different material.

NKF shortly issued a letter of demand for an apology, retraction, and payment of damages from the paper's publisher, Singapore Press Holdings (SPH), within 24 hours. Four days after the article's publication, NKF and Durai served a writ on Long and SPH for defamation, demanding S$3.24 million in damages. They claimed that the six paragraphs in the article implied the mismanagement of donors' funds, that the installations were scaled down only due to the contractor's protests, and that it had avoided providing further details on that matter.

The proceedings

The trial began on 11 July 2005, with Long and SPH represented by Senior Counsel
Senior Counsel
The title of Senior Counsel or State Counsel is given to a senior barrister or advocate in some countries, typically equivalent to the title "Queen's Counsel" used in Commonwealth Realms...

 and MP
Members of the Singapore Parliament
The following is a historical list of members for the current and past ten Parliaments of Singapore:-See also:*1st Parliament of Singapore*2nd Parliament of Singapore*3rd Parliament of Singapore*4th Parliament of Singapore*5th Parliament of Singapore...

 Davinder Singh
Davinder Singh
Davinder Singh Sachdev s/o Amar Singh SC is one of Singapore's foremost trial and appellate lawyer, having attained the title of Senior Counsel in 1997, and having been described by Asia Pacific Legal 500 2009/2010 as being "without peer at the bar"...

, while NKF and Durai were represented by Senior Counsel Michael Khoo. Under cross-examination, it was revealed that Durai collected a monthly salary of $25,000 and collected a 10-month bonus in 2002 and a 12-month bonus in both 2003 and 2004, for a total of $1.8 million over three years. He had access to a fleet of eight chauffeured cars and the NKF paid the taxes and maintenance costs of his personal Mercedes-Benz.

Public backlash

The focus of the scandal turned to the revelation of Durai's S$600,000 pay, which caused widespread feelings of outrage, anger, and betrayal among the public. 3,800 regular donors cancelled their contributions the day after the trial, and NKF's headquarters was vandalized with graffiti.

Mrs Goh's remarks

Following questions about Durai's pay, wife of Senior Minister
Senior Minister
Senior Minister is a political office in the political system of Singapore taken by a prime minister or senior cabinet minister when he or she retires from that office, but still has something to offer the government based on his or her long experience...

 Goh Chok Tong
Goh Chok Tong
Goh Chok Tong is the Senior Minister of Singapore and the chairman of the central bank of Singapore, the Monetary Authority of Singapore. He also served as the second Prime Minister of the Republic of Singapore from 28 November 1990 to 12 August 2004, succeeding Lee Kuan Yew, the former Prime...

 and patron
Patrón
Patrón is a luxury brand of tequila produced in Mexico and sold in hand-blown, individually numbered bottles.Made entirely from Blue Agave "piñas" , Patrón comes in five varieties: Silver, Añejo, Reposado, Gran Patrón Platinum and Gran Patrón Burdeos. Patrón also sells a tequila-coffee blend known...

 of the NKF Tan Choo Leng
Tan Choo Leng
Tan Choo Leng is the wife of Goh Chok Tong, who was the second Prime Minister of the Republic of Singapore from November 26, 1990 to August 12, 2004 and Senior Minister....

 defended Durai, commenting that "for a person who runs a big million-dollar charitable organisation, with a few hundred million in reserves, S$600,000 a year is peanut
Peanut
The peanut, or groundnut , is a species in the legume or "bean" family , so it is not a nut. The peanut was probably first cultivated in the valleys of Peru. It is an annual herbaceous plant growing tall...

s.
", much to the indignation of Singaporeans. The statement was taken as an insult by many, who earn much less a year or even struggle for a living.

Blogs and online message boards were quickly flooded with angry comments, and a second online petition requesting Mrs Goh to apologise was started. Jokes on the issue were later circulated, in particular, local satirical and humour website TalkingCock.com
TalkingCock.com
TalkingCock.com is a Singaporean satirical and humour website. The website features various articles and jokes spoofing Singapore current affairs,which occasionally pokes fun of world happenings...

 published a post featuring a parody
Parody
A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...

 1 peanut bill with a value equivalent to S$600,000.

On 16 July 2005, SM Goh said that Mrs Goh regretted the statement. He also said to have explained and shown her several e-mails and letters he had received after the remark was made. In what SM Goh claims to be a separate matter, Mrs Goh has also resigned as patron of the NKF, despite an earlier announcement to remain on the board.

Interim board

On 14 July 2005 TT Durai and the NKF board resigned en masse. Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan
Khaw Boon Wan
Khaw Boon Wan is a politician from Singapore. He is currently the country's Minister for National Development and the Chairman of the governing People's Action Party . He was previously the Minister for Health from August 2004 to May 2011...

 appointed Gerard Ee
Gerard Ee
Gerard Ee Hock Kim Born in 1949, Ee became a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales in 1972. In 1974 Ee began his career as an accountant, becoming a practicing auditor in 1976. Ee was made a Partner of the Ernst and Young accounting firm, where he remained in the...

 as interim chairman and CEO.

Independent investigation

In July 2005, KPMG
KPMG
KPMG is one of the largest professional services networks in the world and one of the Big Four auditors, along with Deloitte, Ernst & Young and PwC. Its global headquarters is located in Amstelveen, Netherlands....

 was commissioned by the new NKF board to study past practices. KPMG published its report in December 2005, with key findings including:
  • The Board delegated its authority to the Executive Committee, and the Executive Committee delegated its authority to Durai.
  • In 2003, only ten cents out of every dollar raised were used for dialysis costs. In its 2004 annual report, NKF had claimed that 52 cents out of every dollar went to its beneficiaries.
  • NKF awarded contracts worth $3 million to Forte Systems and $4 million to Protonweb, both run by Pharis Aboobacker, a close friend of Durai. Neither project was successfully completed, but no action was taken against the companies. In KPMG's judgment, the terms of the contracts were "unusual" and the ExCo's disregard of the lack of performance was "extraordinary".

Arrests and subsequent lawsuits

Durai was arrested on 17 April 2006. He was out on bail, but will stand for trial with other members of the old National Kidney Foundation Board of Directors. He has also agreed to pay back S$4 million to the new NKF and was sentenced to 3 months jail for misleading NKF by fabricating a $20000 invoice.

Richard Yong (the former chairman), Mathilda Chua (ex-director) and Loo Say San (ex-treasurer) were all declared bankrupt on 16 May 2007. After selling personal properties worth $7.5 million, Richard Yong left Singapore without permission early on the morning of May 17 but was arrested on 4 July 2007 in Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...

 and extradited back to Singapore on 3 August 2007 where he was charged the next day for charges that the NKF levied on him as well as escaping from Singapore hours before being declared a bankrupt. Yong said that he had left to settle some personal matters.

He was sentenced to 15 months in jail for the three charges. Five other charges were taken into consideration during the sentencing. His sentence will commence from the day that he was extradited back to Singapore. Yong has said that he plans to appeal. He lost the appeal and had to serve out his sentence. However, he was given permission to serve half of his jail term (five months) at home on an electronic tag.

Long-term effects

The scandal has raised questions about the level of transparency
Transparency (humanities)
Transparency, as used in science, engineering, business, the humanities and in a social context more generally, implies openness, communication, and accountability. Transparency is operating in such a way that it is easy for others to see what actions are performed...

 in other institutions in Singapore. Opposition politicians, notably Chee Soon Juan
Chee Soon Juan
Chee Soon Juan, PhD is a politician and political activist from Singapore. He is currently the leader of the opposition Singapore Democratic Party ....

, have noted that the issues at NKF would probably not have been revealed if T.T. Durai had not sued the Straits Times. Four people linked to the Singapore Democratic Party
Singapore Democratic Party
The Singapore Democratic Party is an opposition political party in Singapore.The party was founded in 1980 by Chiam See Tong, who as Secretary-General became the party's first Member of Parliament in 1984 when he was elected as MP for Potong Pasir...

 held a silent demonstration outside the Central Provident Fund
Central Provident Fund
In Singapore, the Central Provident Fund is a compulsory comprehensive savings plan for working Singaporeans and permanent residents primarily to fund their retirement, healthcare and housing needs. It is administered by the Central Provident Fund Board, a statutory board under the Ministry of...

 (CPF) headquarters in July 2005, wearing T-shirts emblazoned with "GIC HDB NKF CPF Transparency now!", thus demanding greater transparency from the Government Investment Corporation
Government of Singapore Investment Corporation
The Government of Singapore Investment Corporation Private Limited is a sovereign wealth fund established by the Government of Singapore in 1981 to manage Singapore's foreign reserves...

 (GIC), the Housing Development Board (HDB) and the CPF. The protesters were arrested but later dismissed without charges, with their own countersuit for unlawful detention dismissed with costs.

On 21 April 2006, Chee Soon Juan and 12 other defendants were sued for defamation for questioning the government's handling of the NKF scandal in the Singapore Democratic Party
Singapore Democratic Party
The Singapore Democratic Party is an opposition political party in Singapore.The party was founded in 1980 by Chiam See Tong, who as Secretary-General became the party's first Member of Parliament in 1984 when he was elected as MP for Potong Pasir...

's newsletter The New Democrat.

New NKF v. Old NKF

The civil trial by the new board against the old executive committee
Executive Committee
Executive Committee may refer to:* The Executive Committee of the Privy Council of Northern Ireland, a government body in the United Kingdom 1921–1972* The Northern Ireland Executive, a government body in the United Kingdom...

 – former CEO TT Durai, chairman Richard Yong, treasurer
Treasurer
A treasurer is the person responsible for running the treasury of an organization. The adjective for a treasurer is normally "tresorial". The adjective "treasurial" normally means pertaining to a treasury, rather than the treasurer.-Government:...

 Loo Say San, board member Maltilda Chua and business associate opened on 8 January 2007. Damages of S$
Singapore dollar
The Singapore dollar or Dollar is the official currency of Singapore. It is normally abbreviated with the dollar sign $, or alternatively S$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies...

12 million are sought for alleged mismanagement, breach of duty and damage and loss to the organization. Durai was accused of running the charity to his advantage, destruction of documents, and the like, with the new committee asserting that as a charity, NKF as a charity, and Durai as CEO, should be subjected to a higher and more rigorous standard of care. On the third day, Durai accepted all liabilities and all claims against him. The only public statement by Rajah - Durai's lawyer - was to confirm that his client had dropped out of the matter.

Later that day around 1700 (SST
Singapore Standard Time
Singapore Standard Time or Singapore Time based in Singapore uses a time zone eight hours in advance of UTC .- History :...

), NKF's lawyer, Shanmugam, confirmed to reporters that Durai conceded; the amount of damages to be paid to the NKF are still to be settled. However, the decision by the other defendants to continue will have implications to other equally liable director
Board of directors
A board of directors is a body of elected or appointed members who jointly oversee the activities of a company or organization. Other names include board of governors, board of managers, board of regents, board of trustees, and board of visitors...

s and third parties (Alwyn Lim, Lawrence Chia, Kweh Soon Han and Chow Kok Fong). The result of Durai conceding will make the trial shorter rather than an expected eight week trial.

See also

  • Chilling effect
  • Corporate abuse
  • Corporate scandal
    Corporate scandal
    A corporate scandal is a scandal involving allegations of unethical behavior by people acting within or on behalf of a corporation. A corporate scandal sometimes involves accounting fraud of some sort...

  • Accounting scandals
    Accounting scandals
    Accounting scandals, or corporate accounting scandals, are political and business scandals which arise with the disclosure of misdeeds by trusted executives of large public corporations...

  • National Kidney Foundation Singapore
    National Kidney Foundation Singapore
    The National Kidney Foundation Singapore is a Singapore-based foundation running kidney dialysis and prevention programmes. It is fully supported by charity donations.-Beginnings:...


External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK