SINGAPORE: On Sunday, Jan 12, former Singapore Post (SingPost) group CEO Vincent Phang resigned from the company’s board of directors, as announced by the company in a bourse filing on Monday, Jan 13.
Mr Phang served as a non-executive, non-independent director at SingPost since Sept 1, 2021, and was re-elected on July 21, 2022.
On Dec 21, 2024, he, along with group CFO Vincent Yik and international business head Li Yu, were immediately fired for mishandling a whistleblowing report.
Channel News Asia reported that in its SGX filing, the company acknowledged unresolved differences in opinion on material matters between Mr Phang and the board of directors.
SingPost said, “Mr Phang has stated that he categorically refutes the allegations made against him in the disciplinary proceedings leading up to his termination of employment and has, through his solicitors, indicated that he will vigorously contest the termination of his employment, both on merits and on the grounds of procedural unfairness,” as reported by Singapore Business Review.
Following Mr Phang’s resignation, SingPost’s board now consists of seven members, including chairman Simon Israel.
On Dec 29, SingPost announced Isaac Mah as its new group CFO. Earlier this year, Jan 2, the company also appointed Neo Su Yin as group COO.
On the same day as Ms Neo’s appointment, the company said it is open to discussions with the Securities Investors Association Singapore (SIAS) about its decision to dismiss its three top executives.
This came after SIAS called for an independent inquiry, citing concerns raised by shareholders, investors, and the market due to the sudden dismissals and the executives’ strong denial of the allegations.
According to Channel News Asia, SingPost has fulfilled its disclosure obligations while being “mindful not to prejudice any potential legal proceedings” and is open to discussions with SIAS.
Both Mr Phang and Mr Yik also said they were willing to cooperate fully with any independent inquiry, including those from other regulatory bodies or authorities.
On Jan 7, both executives said they are “prepared to not pursue any litigation options” as their primary objective is establishing “full facts” and re-establishing their standing and careers over pursuing damages.
An internal investigation by SingPost revealed that a practice within its international business unit involved falsely marking parcels as delivery failures (DF) to one of its largest customers to allegedly avoid contractual penalties.
As a result, three unnamed employees were dismissed, and police reports were filed against them. The conduct of the three senior executives was also examined as part of the company’s internal probe. /TISG
