Filipino nurse put on admin duties after
anti-S'porean comments on Facebook. Hospital
says:
We expect staff to be
respectfully
OUTRAGING NETIZENS:
An anti-Singaporean Facebook post, purportedly made by
Filipino Ed Mundsel Bello Ello, went viral over the
weekend. TNP PHOTO ILLUSTRATION: GAVIN FOO
Report by FOO JIE YING
The nurse who allegedly made anti-Singaporean comments on
Facebook has been put on administrative duties while the police
investigate whether his account has been hacked.
Filipino Ed Mundsel Bello Ello of Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH)
had allegedly vowed to "evict" Singaporeans from their country in a
Facebook post.
It ended with a reminder, that "Pinoy better and
stronger than Stinkaporeans".
The post went viral over the weekend, outraging
many netizens. Mr Ello subsequently claimed that his Facebook
account had been hacked.
A TTSH spokesman, who called the incident a
"serious matter", said the nurse has been put on administrative
duties while police investigations into his Facebook account are
under way.
He told The New Paper yesterday: "We are a public
health-care institution, and we expect our staff to be respectful
and professional.
"We do not condone behaviours or comments that are
irresponsible and offensive, and will take the appropriate
disciplinary action where necessary."
He also thanked members of the public for their
concern, and asked for their patience for the investigation to take
its due course.
Police confirmed that a report had been made.
Similar offensive comments on social media had
previously led to some losing their jobs.
Mr Anton Casey was fired from his wealth manager
job last year for lamenting about the "stench" of public
transport.
In 2012, Ms Amy Cheong lost her job at NTUC after
drawing flak for complaining about Malay traditional weddings.
SOCIAL MEDIA POLICY
While the social media policy adopted by companies may differ,
human resource experts said the general rule is to stay away from
the four taboo subjects: race, religion, politics and
xenophobia.
Mr Ello's alleged Facebook post falls under the
last subject, said Mr Ong Hong Him, a fellow at the Singapore Human
Resources Institute.
"It is an unspoken rule," he said. "If you want to
have the freedom of speech, be your own boss. But if you want to be
an employee, then you are obliged to follow the company's line of
practice."
Mr Ong said companies should also impress upon
their employees that "there are certain norms to adhere to", like
not getting overly involved in sensitive topics.
Mr Tim Klimcke, the associate director at
recruitment agency Robert Waiters Singapore, agreed.
"Employees should also be mindful of the fact that
while under employment, they are still ambassadors of the company
and inflammatory comments are not likely to be tolerated," he
said.
If the comments are negative in nature, or are made
in relation to people in the company, tagging it with a disclaimer
that views are personal will not grant the employee immunity, said
Mr Paul Heng, the founder of NeXT Career Consulting Group.
Perhaps there is a need for a more developed social
media policy here, in an age where social media is the "in" thing,
said Ms Annie Yap, the managing director at recruiter AYP
Associates.
But she said it may be impossible to enforce it
fully, given that there are so many facets of social media to
mind.
News, The New Paper, Tuesday, January 6 2015, Pg 12