SingPost, a national postal service provider in Singapore, fired three top executives after a probe into a whistleblower’s report found “grossly negligent” behavior in their handling of internal investigations.
The investigation was launched after a report alleged that SingPost’s international business unit manually entered delivery status codes for parcels without basis or supporting documentation, to avoid contractual penalties. The company’s group internal audit committee found three unidentified managers directly involved in the case to have committed serious breaches of the code of conduct and performed or approved manual “delivery failure” status codes for parcels without supporting documents.
As a result, the three top executives – Group CEO Vincent Phang, Group CFO Vincent Yik, and International Business Unit CEO Li Yu – were found guilty of gross negligence in their handling of the internal investigations. They have since been sacked and a police report was made against them.
SingPost’s board lost confidence in the judgment of the three executives and their ability to perform their duties given the seriousness of these lapses. The company will announce the appointment of a new Group CEO in due course, with current Australian business CFO Isaac Mah taking over as interim CFO.
The whistleblowing report was filed earlier this year and was investigated by SingPost’s internal audit committee, which is typically a group of board members that look after a company’s financial reporting, risk management, and internal controls. The investigation found the three executives to have “accorded undue weight” to misrepresentations by employees in the international business unit operations without independent substantiation or evidence.
The Infocomm Media Development Authority of Singapore, the country’s postal regulator, has issued an advisory to SingPost to uphold proper governance and processes, and is monitoring the situation closely. The customer involved in the matter has not been materially affected, with the contract being renewed following a settlement.
Source: https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/singpost-group-ceo-cfo-why-fired-whistleblowing-report-4822511