SINGAPORE: The sixth day of the trial against former
Ren Ci CEO, Shi Ming Yi, threw light on the way staff loans were
granted, even though the hospital did not have a formal policy on
them in place.
The court on Thursday heard that Ming Yi had approved several
loans to various staff.
Among them was Dr Ong Seh Hong who is currently the community
hospital’s chief operating officer and clinical director of Ren Ci
Hospital and Medicare Centre. Dr Ong is also a Member of Parliament
for Marine Parade GRC.
When contacted by Channel NewsAsia, the MP said in a letter
dated Friday: "I was an employee of GIC in 1999. I was offered by
Ren Ci Hospital and Medicare Centre to be Director, Medical &
Paramedical Services in January 2000.
"However to leave GIC, I had to pay S$560,000 to settle my
outstanding staff housing loan. I agreed to join Ren Ci on
condition that I received a loan of S$60,000, to pay off in part
the amount of S$560,000 and I paid the remaining S$500,000 from
bank loan.
“When I borrowed the sum of S$60,000 from Ren Ci, I was not an
MP. It was lent to me as staff, and was part of the terms on which
I agreed to join Ren Ci. I have since repaid the sum fully."
The court also learnt that Ming Yi’s former aide, Raymond Yeung,
was offered an employment contract in 2001, despite his
unsuccessful application for an employment pass.
Ming Yi subsequently granted Yeung a S$50,000 loan, even though
the latter remained without an employment pass until 2004. This was
recorded on Ren Ci’s books as a loan made to Mandala Buddhist
Cultural Centre.
At issue now is whether Yeung, who is an Australian citizen and
only became a Singapore Permanent Resident in 2006, had received
the loan as a legitimate Ren Ci employee.
The trial continues.
extracted from channelnewsasia.com
