SINGAPORE: Former Singapore Post group CEO Vincent Phang, one of three senior executives sacked in December last year over their alleged mishandling of a whistleblower's report, resigned from the company's board of directors on Sunday (Jan 12).
The national postal service provider announced his resignation in a Singapore Exchange (SGX) bourse filing on Monday.
Mr Phang had been a non-executive, non-independent director on SingPost's board since Sep 1, 2021. He was last re-elected in Jul 21, 2022.
On Dec 21, 2024, the company dismissed him as group CEO, along with group chief financial officer Vincent Yik and the head of its international business unit Li Yu.
In its SGX filing, SingPost acknowledged that there were unresolved differences in opinion on material matters between Mr Phang and the board of directors.
The company noted that Mr Phang has stated that he "categorically refutes" the allegations made against him in the disciplinary proceedings leading up to his dismissal and that he will "vigorously contest" his sacking, both on merits and on the grounds of procedural unfairness.
According to SingPost's website, the board now comprises seven members, including chairman Simon Israel, following Mr Phang's resignation.
On Jan 2, SingPost said it is open to discussions with the Securities Investors Association Singapore (SIAS) about its decision to fire the three top executives, after the retail investor watchdog called for an independent professional inquiry.
"The sudden dismissal of three senior executives from SingPost, coupled with their vigorous denial of the allegations against them, has raised critical questions in the minds of shareholders, investors and the market," SIAS president and CEO David Gerald had said in a statement.
Given the severity of the incident and the large number of questions "still circulating", he had said the watchdog "strongly urges" the commissioning of an independent professional inquiry into the matter.
In response to CNA's queries, SingPost had said it has fulfilled its disclosure obligations "while being mindful not to prejudice any potential legal proceedings".
"We have contacted SIAS and are open to discussing recent events to the extent possible given these constraints," a spokesperson said.
Mr Phang and Mr Yik had also responded to the association's call, saying that they would welcome and participate fully in any independent inquiry, including any from other regulatory bodies or authorities.
Both executives added on Jan 7 that if there is such an inquiry, they are "prepared to not pursue any litigation options, as the primary objective for us is to establish the full facts of the case and re-establish our standing and careers rather than to pursue damages".
An internal probe by SingPost last year found a practice within the international business unit that involved manually keying in the delivery failure (DF) status code for a significant number of parcels that the company had agreed to deliver for one of its largest customers.
This falsely indicated that the delivery had been attempted but had failed. The whistleblowing report alleged that this was done to avoid the payment of certain contractual penalties to the customer.
Three unnamed employees from the international business unit were fired in June and police reports were filed against them.
As part of an internal probe, the conduct of the three senior executives also came under scrutiny during investigations into the whistleblowing report.
The audit committee met on Mar 11 and Apr 3 to discuss the findings of the group internal audit (GIA).
According to SingPost, the three executives - Mr Phang, Mr Yik and Mr Yu - had made false assertions, including denying evidence of data manipulation or wrongdoing.
As the representations made by management contradicted the findings by GIA, the audit committee engaged the assistance of external legal counsel on Apr 3 and a forensics service provider on Apr 19.
All three men were sacked on Dec 21, and have said that they would contest SingPost's decision to terminate their employment, arguing that it was unfair.
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The national postal service provider announced his resignation in a Singapore Exchange (SGX) bourse filing on Monday.
Mr Phang had been a non-executive, non-independent director on SingPost's board since Sep 1, 2021. He was last re-elected in Jul 21, 2022.
On Dec 21, 2024, the company dismissed him as group CEO, along with group chief financial officer Vincent Yik and the head of its international business unit Li Yu.
In its SGX filing, SingPost acknowledged that there were unresolved differences in opinion on material matters between Mr Phang and the board of directors.
The company noted that Mr Phang has stated that he "categorically refutes" the allegations made against him in the disciplinary proceedings leading up to his dismissal and that he will "vigorously contest" his sacking, both on merits and on the grounds of procedural unfairness.
According to SingPost's website, the board now comprises seven members, including chairman Simon Israel, following Mr Phang's resignation.
Related:
SIAS' CALL FOR INDEPENDENT INQUIRY
On Jan 2, SingPost said it is open to discussions with the Securities Investors Association Singapore (SIAS) about its decision to fire the three top executives, after the retail investor watchdog called for an independent professional inquiry.
"The sudden dismissal of three senior executives from SingPost, coupled with their vigorous denial of the allegations against them, has raised critical questions in the minds of shareholders, investors and the market," SIAS president and CEO David Gerald had said in a statement.
Given the severity of the incident and the large number of questions "still circulating", he had said the watchdog "strongly urges" the commissioning of an independent professional inquiry into the matter.
In response to CNA's queries, SingPost had said it has fulfilled its disclosure obligations "while being mindful not to prejudice any potential legal proceedings".
"We have contacted SIAS and are open to discussing recent events to the extent possible given these constraints," a spokesperson said.
Mr Phang and Mr Yik had also responded to the association's call, saying that they would welcome and participate fully in any independent inquiry, including any from other regulatory bodies or authorities.
Both executives added on Jan 7 that if there is such an inquiry, they are "prepared to not pursue any litigation options, as the primary objective for us is to establish the full facts of the case and re-establish our standing and careers rather than to pursue damages".
Related:
THE WHISTLEBLOWING REPORT
An internal probe by SingPost last year found a practice within the international business unit that involved manually keying in the delivery failure (DF) status code for a significant number of parcels that the company had agreed to deliver for one of its largest customers.
This falsely indicated that the delivery had been attempted but had failed. The whistleblowing report alleged that this was done to avoid the payment of certain contractual penalties to the customer.
Three unnamed employees from the international business unit were fired in June and police reports were filed against them.
As part of an internal probe, the conduct of the three senior executives also came under scrutiny during investigations into the whistleblowing report.
The audit committee met on Mar 11 and Apr 3 to discuss the findings of the group internal audit (GIA).
According to SingPost, the three executives - Mr Phang, Mr Yik and Mr Yu - had made false assertions, including denying evidence of data manipulation or wrongdoing.
As the representations made by management contradicted the findings by GIA, the audit committee engaged the assistance of external legal counsel on Apr 3 and a forensics service provider on Apr 19.
All three men were sacked on Dec 21, and have said that they would contest SingPost's decision to terminate their employment, arguing that it was unfair.
Continue reading...