T. T. Durai
Encyclopedia
Thambirajah Tharmadurai (Born 22 April 1948), better known as T. T. Durai, is the former Chief Executive Officer
of the National Kidney Foundation Singapore
(NKF). He is the central figure in the National Kidney Foundation Singapore scandal
and was jailed for corruption charges.
Durai was once highly respected as the head of an extremely successful fundraising organisation. But in July 2005, Durai resigned amid controversy following the collapse of a defamation
trial which the NKF brought against Singapore Press Holdings
(SPH). Various revelations emerged during the trial about spending from the charity's funds on luxury items which appeared to be for the personal use of Durai and his wife.
on April 19, 2004. Four days after the article appeared, the NKF, led by Durai, served a writ
on the newspaper.
The NKF objected to the first six paragraphs of the article, which carried an account from a plumber who worked on the attached bathroom of Durai's private office suite. The plumber said he "lost it" when he had to install, among other things, "a glass panelled shower, a pricey German toilet bowl and a gold-plated tap". The article said the taps were "scaled down" after his outburst.
When contacted regarding the plumber's story, the NKF responded that it was "difficult for us to give an answer to enlighten your readers" since the newspaper had not said who the man was. Durai had the gold tap replaced with a steel one the week after the article was published.
The NKF claimed that the paragraphs implied it had misused funds collected from the public and splurged them on its CEO's office; that it mismanaged public donations; that it had "scaled down" the installations only because the plumber protested; and that it avoided providing details on the alleged incident.
The Straits Times argued that the alleged incident was true, and therefore justified publishing, and that the entire article was not defamatory but a fair comment on the lack of transparency and controversy surrounding the NKF.
Two days into the trial, which had been scheduled to last ten days, the NKF withdrew the defamation suits against SPH and the journalist.
stood at S$262 million as of July 2003.
SPH's lawyer Davinder Singh
said during the trial that the NKF had been telling Singaporeans its reserves would not last more than three years, according to statements made by its officials. However he argued that if the NKF stopped all fundraising activities and concentrated on treating kidney patients, it would still have enough money to see through its operations for 30 years, based on its expenses scheduled for 2003.
In June 2005, the NKF had told The Straits Times that it needed about S$2,600 per month to support each of its 2,000 patients, a total of S$62.4 million per year. The charity cited those figures to bolster its argument that its reserves were not excessive. Based on its expenditure of more than S$60 million a year for dialysis
, the reserves would last 3 years, it said. But on 12 July 2005, during the defamation case the NKF had launched against SPH, the court was shown how the NKF in fact spent far less on dialysis than the public had been led to believe. According to its 2003 audited financial statement, the NKF spent S$31.6 million that year on dialysis and transplantation. Of that amount, S$22.9 million came from dialysis fees it collected from patients and a further S$1.5 million came from other related income. So NKF was out-of-pocket
by only S$7.2 million.
Durai initially disagreed with Singh, saying that no-one could be sure patients would continue to pay their share for the treatments. But he finally agreed that the NKF's assertion that the reserves would last only three years was 'not accurate'.
Singh noted that even if the NKF had to foot the entire dialysis bill of $31.6 million a year, its current reserves of S$262 million would last more than 8 years.
In May 2004, Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan
informed Parliament that the NKF had treated 1,414 patients in 1999 and 1,512 patients in 2003. A letter written to The Straits Times in April 2004 by the chairman of its Children's Medical Fund board, Dr Gerard Chuah, had claimed that the NKF had 3,000 patients. Singh pointed out the number had been overstated by about 1,000. Durai said he realised there was a mistake only after the letter had been published, but had not corrected it.
During questioning Durai admitted that an overestimate had been made and not corrected. When asked why he had done nothing to correct it, Durai said: "It was an oversight. I did not think it was of material importance. The donor gives us money because of the brand of the NKF and I did not think it was so important at that point of time to correct this error."
Singh suggested that the number had been inflated to create a false impression of need. In fact, according to Khaw's statement in Parliament, the NKF's "share" of kidney patients in Singapore had dropped, from 54% in 1999 to 44% in 2003.
s in 3 years from 2002 to 2004. These figures were closely guarded secrets until the court case. There were many occasions when he declined a pay rise but was paid the offered increase in salary, backdated to the time he was offered the pay rise, the following year.
Singh said Durai had tried to give the impression in his affidavit that he was being thoughtful when he agreed to come on board as CEO in 1992 for just $12,000 a month even though he had been offered $20,000. The truth, Singh said, was that Durai had agreed to the lower pay in exchange for freedom to earn extra income outside the NKF. Durai testified that his earnings were up to the board of directors to decide, admitting that he was unethical but arguing that he was not to blame for accepting them.
The NKF, including chairman Richard Yong, had maintained that senior executives flew business class for long-haul flights.
Durai told the Singapore court on 11 July 2005 that he does in fact fly first class. For the past two years he has been entitled to a fare equal to Singapore Airlines
business class rate – which can translate to first class on other airlines. Previously, he paid the difference himself.
Singh questioned Durai on the cars. Durai said that, as CEO, he was entitled to use any of the cars any time he wanted. He also admitted that he had used the office cars for personal use.
It was also revealed that Durai had a business relationship with Matilda Chua, a one-time employee of the NKF, who left to start her own company. Not only did he invest in her business, but the NKF also gave her telemarketing contracts, and she eventually became a member of the NKF board as well.
When Singh produced Durai's CV and asked if it were complete, Durai answered: 'Not exactly.' He disclosed that he had once worked for a company known as Bonyad Marketing Industries, which he described as an Iran
ian charity, for S$7,000 a month. [A December 1995 article in The American Spectator http://www.iran.org/news/AS_9512.html describes Bonyad Marketing Industries as a "special arms trading company" that had "in addition to spare parts for Iran's U.S.-built F-4 and F-5 fighters ... been purchasing large quantities of Hewlett Packard and Sun SparcServer computers for use in Iran."] He said he was its representative in Singapore from 1990 to 1992, but decided to give that up when he became NKF's chief executive. Durai admitted that in 2000 he had invested in Ms Chua's company, Global Net Relations, but did not disclose to the NKF board that he was a director of the company.
Singh then probed him on the director's fees he had collected while he was working full-time as the NKF's CEO.
Durai said he was paid S$25,000 a year each as a director of Amcol Holdings between 1990 and 1996 and an Australian company, Overseas & General, "for a couple of years". He also received "some nominal sum" as a director of MediaCorp
TV Channel 12.
Singh told him: "The position is this: While you were expected to be and paid as a full-time CEO, you were earning fees outside NKF which were not disclosed to the NKF or to the public."
Durai replied: "That's correct. The NKF board gave me the liberty to do so."
Singh continued: "Mr Durai, your CV is yet another illustration of the lack of transparency with which you operate. You do not come clean on what you do, you do not tell the board what you do, how much you earn. You do not tell the board about your commercial relationship with a person who has a contract with the NKF. Is that transparency?"
Durai said: "They were not very consequential, in my opinion." He said it was not necessary for him to disclose to the board and added that the directorships were "just appearances".
In days following the trial, around 30,000 donors terminated their monthly contributions to the NKF. An online petition was set up, calling for Durai to step down, which, as of writing, has 43589 signatures on it. The morning after the trial, the wall outside the NKF headquarters in Kim Keat Road was vandalised by an unknown person, most probably angered by the lack of transparency in NKF. Spray painted all over the wall were the words 'liar'. On one wall, the words "骗子" (Liar) and "大骗仙" (God Of Liars) were spray painted in Chinese characters along with the Malay words 'Hang Turi', the misspelling referring to Durai. The NKF signboard was also vandalised with the words "liar" spray painted in both English and Chinese. The graffiti was quickly painted over and the affected areas of the signboard was quickly covered up. These acts were severely condemned and investigations were carried out.
On 14 July 2005, Durai and the NKF Board met with Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan to discuss the future and were told that 'business as usual' would not do. The evening, the NKF called a press conference at which Durai and the entire NKF Board announced their resignations.
An interim board was appointed by the government to keep the organisation going and begin the task of restoring public confidence. Dr. Gerard Ee was appointed as interim chairman to oversee the restructuring of the NKF and Professor Goh Chee Leok has taken over the post as interim Chief Executive officer. Prof. Goh has described his service to Singapore as a National Service which he intends to ensure that the NKF cleans up its act fully. Together as a team, they face a mammoth task of convincing the general public to continue to donate to the NKF.
investigated the business activities of NKF and issued a report on 16 December 2005 including the following conclusions:
Durai said that he is prepared for the worst, referring to any legal charges that would be laid on him.
In an affidavit submitted to the high court on September 7, 2007, he revealed that has secured a high paying job. He had accepted the position of CEO of a new subsidiary company under Singapore-based real estate management firm Property Facility Services (PFS) - a job which will pay him $25,000 a month.
Durai will be based full-time in Abu Dhabi
in the United Arab Emirates
after his sentence is over.
Durai was released on bail of $100,000 which was posted by his wife.
On June 11, 2007, Durai was found guilty of misleading the charitable organisation with a falsified invoice of $20,000 which was allegedly for interior design consultancy work done by David Tan, director of the design firm. The invoice, dated December 29, 2003, was meant for work done for various dialysis centres. For this, Durai was sentenced to three months in jail
on June 21. He could have been jailed for up to five years and fined $100,000.
On May 30, 2008, he lost the appeal as Justice Tay Yong Kwang said Durai "was in a position of trust and authority at the NKF and the return of the money only came about after investigations into the invoices were underway."
He added that the "money in question belonged to a charity whose funds come from well meaning trusting donors".
His sentence was maintained. However, the judge allowed Durai to defer his sentence to June 10, 2008 because his elderly mother went for a cataract surgery on June 3.
A second charge, concerning the $5,000 invoice, was considered on June 27, 2007. The money was allegedly paid to a company called Decision One International, in September 2003, for finding suitable candidates for a senior management position in the organisation. However, investigations reveal that no such service was rendered to NKF. The charge was later dropped.
He was released from Queenstown Remand Prison at 10.43am on 11 August 2008.
after contracting dengue fever. His condition was reportedly stable.
Chief executive officer
A chief executive officer , managing director , Executive Director for non-profit organizations, or chief executive is the highest-ranking corporate officer or administrator in charge of total management of an organization...
of the National Kidney Foundation Singapore
National Kidney Foundation Singapore
The National Kidney Foundation Singapore is a Singapore-based foundation running kidney dialysis and prevention programmes. It is fully supported by charity donations.-Beginnings:...
(NKF). He is the central figure in the National Kidney Foundation Singapore scandal
National Kidney Foundation Singapore scandal
The National Kidney Foundation Singapore scandal, also known as the NKF saga, NKF scandal, or NKF controversy, was a July 2005 scandal involving National Kidney Foundation Singapore following the collapse of a defamation trial which it brought against Susan Long and Singapore Press Holdings...
and was jailed for corruption charges.
Durai was once highly respected as the head of an extremely successful fundraising organisation. But in July 2005, Durai resigned amid controversy following the collapse of a defamation
Slander and libel
Defamation—also called calumny, vilification, traducement, slander , and libel —is the communication of a statement that makes a claim, expressly stated or implied to be factual, that may give an individual, business, product, group, government, or nation a negative image...
trial which the NKF brought against Singapore Press Holdings
Singapore Press Holdings
Singapore Press Holdings Limited is a media organisation in Singapore with businesses in print, Internet and new media, television and radio, outdoor media, and property. SPH has over 4,000 employees, including a team of approximately 1,000 journalists, including correspondents operating around...
(SPH). Various revelations emerged during the trial about spending from the charity's funds on luxury items which appeared to be for the personal use of Durai and his wife.
Lawsuit over The Straits Times article
Durai and NKF sued SPH and its senior correspondent Susan Long over an article published in The Straits TimesThe Straits Times
The Straits Times is an English language daily broadsheet newspaper based in Singapore currently owned by Singapore Press Holdings . It is the country's highest-selling paper, with a current daily circulation of nearly 400,000...
on April 19, 2004. Four days after the article appeared, the NKF, led by Durai, served a writ
Writ
In common law, a writ is a formal written order issued by a body with administrative or judicial jurisdiction; in modern usage, this body is generally a court...
on the newspaper.
The NKF objected to the first six paragraphs of the article, which carried an account from a plumber who worked on the attached bathroom of Durai's private office suite. The plumber said he "lost it" when he had to install, among other things, "a glass panelled shower, a pricey German toilet bowl and a gold-plated tap". The article said the taps were "scaled down" after his outburst.
When contacted regarding the plumber's story, the NKF responded that it was "difficult for us to give an answer to enlighten your readers" since the newspaper had not said who the man was. Durai had the gold tap replaced with a steel one the week after the article was published.
The NKF claimed that the paragraphs implied it had misused funds collected from the public and splurged them on its CEO's office; that it mismanaged public donations; that it had "scaled down" the installations only because the plumber protested; and that it avoided providing details on the alleged incident.
The Straits Times argued that the alleged incident was true, and therefore justified publishing, and that the entire article was not defamatory but a fair comment on the lack of transparency and controversy surrounding the NKF.
Two days into the trial, which had been scheduled to last ten days, the NKF withdrew the defamation suits against SPH and the journalist.
NKF's reserves
The court was told that the NKF's reservesBank reserves
Bank reserves are banks' holdings of deposits in accounts with their central bank , plus currency that is physically held in the bank's vault . The central banks of some nations set minimum reserve requirements...
stood at S$262 million as of July 2003.
SPH's lawyer Davinder Singh
Davinder Singh
Davinder Singh Sachdev s/o Amar Singh SC is one of Singapore's foremost trial and appellate lawyer, having attained the title of Senior Counsel in 1997, and having been described by Asia Pacific Legal 500 2009/2010 as being "without peer at the bar"...
said during the trial that the NKF had been telling Singaporeans its reserves would not last more than three years, according to statements made by its officials. However he argued that if the NKF stopped all fundraising activities and concentrated on treating kidney patients, it would still have enough money to see through its operations for 30 years, based on its expenses scheduled for 2003.
In June 2005, the NKF had told The Straits Times that it needed about S$2,600 per month to support each of its 2,000 patients, a total of S$62.4 million per year. The charity cited those figures to bolster its argument that its reserves were not excessive. Based on its expenditure of more than S$60 million a year for dialysis
Dialysis
In medicine, dialysis is a process for removing waste and excess water from the blood, and is primarily used to provide an artificial replacement for lost kidney function in people with renal failure...
, the reserves would last 3 years, it said. But on 12 July 2005, during the defamation case the NKF had launched against SPH, the court was shown how the NKF in fact spent far less on dialysis than the public had been led to believe. According to its 2003 audited financial statement, the NKF spent S$31.6 million that year on dialysis and transplantation. Of that amount, S$22.9 million came from dialysis fees it collected from patients and a further S$1.5 million came from other related income. So NKF was out-of-pocket
Out-of-pocket expenses
Out-of-pocket expenses are direct outlays of cash which may or may not be later reimbursed.In operating a vehicle, gasoline, parking fees and tolls are considered out-of-pocket expenses for the trip...
by only S$7.2 million.
Durai initially disagreed with Singh, saying that no-one could be sure patients would continue to pay their share for the treatments. But he finally agreed that the NKF's assertion that the reserves would last only three years was 'not accurate'.
Singh noted that even if the NKF had to foot the entire dialysis bill of $31.6 million a year, its current reserves of S$262 million would last more than 8 years.
Number of patients the NKF served
Davinder Singh argued that the NKF had overstated its patient numbers, and this would have given the impression to the public that more funds were needed to run its operations.In May 2004, Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan
Khaw Boon Wan
Khaw Boon Wan is a politician from Singapore. He is currently the country's Minister for National Development and the Chairman of the governing People's Action Party . He was previously the Minister for Health from August 2004 to May 2011...
informed Parliament that the NKF had treated 1,414 patients in 1999 and 1,512 patients in 2003. A letter written to The Straits Times in April 2004 by the chairman of its Children's Medical Fund board, Dr Gerard Chuah, had claimed that the NKF had 3,000 patients. Singh pointed out the number had been overstated by about 1,000. Durai said he realised there was a mistake only after the letter had been published, but had not corrected it.
During questioning Durai admitted that an overestimate had been made and not corrected. When asked why he had done nothing to correct it, Durai said: "It was an oversight. I did not think it was of material importance. The donor gives us money because of the brand of the NKF and I did not think it was so important at that point of time to correct this error."
Singh suggested that the number had been inflated to create a false impression of need. In fact, according to Khaw's statement in Parliament, the NKF's "share" of kidney patients in Singapore had dropped, from 54% in 1999 to 44% in 2003.
Durai's salary
T.T Durai was paid a monthly salary of S$25,000 in 2002 and received 10 months performance bonuses (S$250,000) for that year, making a total of S$550,000 for 2002. He was paid a monthly salary of S$25,000 and received 12 months performance bonuses (S$300,000). He was paid a total of S$600,000 in both 2003 and 2004. He was paid a total of nearly 1.8 million Singapore dollarSingapore dollar
The Singapore dollar or Dollar is the official currency of Singapore. It is normally abbreviated with the dollar sign $, or alternatively S$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies...
s in 3 years from 2002 to 2004. These figures were closely guarded secrets until the court case. There were many occasions when he declined a pay rise but was paid the offered increase in salary, backdated to the time he was offered the pay rise, the following year.
Singh said Durai had tried to give the impression in his affidavit that he was being thoughtful when he agreed to come on board as CEO in 1992 for just $12,000 a month even though he had been offered $20,000. The truth, Singh said, was that Durai had agreed to the lower pay in exchange for freedom to earn extra income outside the NKF. Durai testified that his earnings were up to the board of directors to decide, admitting that he was unethical but arguing that he was not to blame for accepting them.
First class air travel
NKF volunteer Archie Ong and aero-modelling instructor Piragasam Singaravelu, both of whom had said that they had seen Durai travelling in first class on airlines while making NKF business trips, were taken to court separately in 1998. Both apologised and paid damages and costs to the NKF after realising they were effectively fighting a losing battle against the unlimited monetary resources of the NKF.The NKF, including chairman Richard Yong, had maintained that senior executives flew business class for long-haul flights.
Durai told the Singapore court on 11 July 2005 that he does in fact fly first class. For the past two years he has been entitled to a fare equal to Singapore Airlines
Singapore Airlines
Singapore Airlines Limited is the flag carrier airline of Singapore. Singapore Airlines operates a hub at Changi Airport and has a strong presence in the Southeast Asia, East Asia, South Asia, and "Kangaroo Route" markets...
business class rate – which can translate to first class on other airlines. Previously, he paid the difference himself.
Cars
It was revealed during the trial that the NKF had a fleet of eight cars with company drivers and Durai was one of six officers who could make use of them at any time. The office cars were also used to transport VIPs and guests of the charity. In his sworn affidavit, Durai said that the office fleet was used by officers who had to visit NKF facilities to attend to the needs of the centres and patients. Durai also had his own Mercedes-Benz 200 car for his personal and family use, and his wife also drove it. But the NKF paid the car's road tax and picked up the bills for maintenance and repair.Singh questioned Durai on the cars. Durai said that, as CEO, he was entitled to use any of the cars any time he wanted. He also admitted that he had used the office cars for personal use.
Durai's undeclared directorships outside the NKF
While Durai worked full-time as CEO of the NKF, he was also a director of a number of other companies. He was paid sums of up to S$25,000 a year by them, over and above his NKF remuneration package. He never told the NKF board about some of these, and did not list these directorships in his curriculum vitae.It was also revealed that Durai had a business relationship with Matilda Chua, a one-time employee of the NKF, who left to start her own company. Not only did he invest in her business, but the NKF also gave her telemarketing contracts, and she eventually became a member of the NKF board as well.
When Singh produced Durai's CV and asked if it were complete, Durai answered: 'Not exactly.' He disclosed that he had once worked for a company known as Bonyad Marketing Industries, which he described as an Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
ian charity, for S$7,000 a month. [A December 1995 article in The American Spectator http://www.iran.org/news/AS_9512.html describes Bonyad Marketing Industries as a "special arms trading company" that had "in addition to spare parts for Iran's U.S.-built F-4 and F-5 fighters ... been purchasing large quantities of Hewlett Packard and Sun SparcServer computers for use in Iran."] He said he was its representative in Singapore from 1990 to 1992, but decided to give that up when he became NKF's chief executive. Durai admitted that in 2000 he had invested in Ms Chua's company, Global Net Relations, but did not disclose to the NKF board that he was a director of the company.
Singh then probed him on the director's fees he had collected while he was working full-time as the NKF's CEO.
Durai said he was paid S$25,000 a year each as a director of Amcol Holdings between 1990 and 1996 and an Australian company, Overseas & General, "for a couple of years". He also received "some nominal sum" as a director of MediaCorp
MediaCorp
Media Corporation of Singapore, better known as MediaCorp, is a group of commercial media companies in Singapore, with business interests in television and radio broadcasting, interactive media, and, to a lesser extent, print publishing and film-making....
TV Channel 12.
Singh told him: "The position is this: While you were expected to be and paid as a full-time CEO, you were earning fees outside NKF which were not disclosed to the NKF or to the public."
Durai replied: "That's correct. The NKF board gave me the liberty to do so."
Singh continued: "Mr Durai, your CV is yet another illustration of the lack of transparency with which you operate. You do not come clean on what you do, you do not tell the board what you do, how much you earn. You do not tell the board about your commercial relationship with a person who has a contract with the NKF. Is that transparency?"
Durai said: "They were not very consequential, in my opinion." He said it was not necessary for him to disclose to the board and added that the directorships were "just appearances".
Subsequent fallout and public backlash
Just after the trial, when Mrs. Goh Chok Tong, patron of the NKF, was interviewed, she commented that "$600,000 per year is peanuts compared to the reserves the NKF has.". This then sparked The Peanut Controversy, in which the public was irked by this comment. The public then called for her to apologise for this statement, in which Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong did on behalf of his wife. Mrs Goh, apparently has now realised the importance of words and its impact thus, recently has denied any knowledge on knowing about Mr Durai's salary before the scandal erupted.In days following the trial, around 30,000 donors terminated their monthly contributions to the NKF. An online petition was set up, calling for Durai to step down, which, as of writing, has 43589 signatures on it. The morning after the trial, the wall outside the NKF headquarters in Kim Keat Road was vandalised by an unknown person, most probably angered by the lack of transparency in NKF. Spray painted all over the wall were the words 'liar'. On one wall, the words "骗子" (Liar) and "大骗仙" (God Of Liars) were spray painted in Chinese characters along with the Malay words 'Hang Turi', the misspelling referring to Durai. The NKF signboard was also vandalised with the words "liar" spray painted in both English and Chinese. The graffiti was quickly painted over and the affected areas of the signboard was quickly covered up. These acts were severely condemned and investigations were carried out.
On 14 July 2005, Durai and the NKF Board met with Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan to discuss the future and were told that 'business as usual' would not do. The evening, the NKF called a press conference at which Durai and the entire NKF Board announced their resignations.
An interim board was appointed by the government to keep the organisation going and begin the task of restoring public confidence. Dr. Gerard Ee was appointed as interim chairman to oversee the restructuring of the NKF and Professor Goh Chee Leok has taken over the post as interim Chief Executive officer. Prof. Goh has described his service to Singapore as a National Service which he intends to ensure that the NKF cleans up its act fully. Together as a team, they face a mammoth task of convincing the general public to continue to donate to the NKF.
KPMG investigation into NKF
The international accountancy firm KPMGKPMG
KPMG is one of the largest professional services networks in the world and one of the Big Four auditors, along with Deloitte, Ernst & Young and PwC. Its global headquarters is located in Amstelveen, Netherlands....
investigated the business activities of NKF and issued a report on 16 December 2005 including the following conclusions:
- In 1995 Durai's pay was increased from $12,000 to $18,000. The promotion was backdated six months, so he received another $36,000. On top of that, Durai received a $30,000 bonus "top-up" based on the revised salary.
- In 1997 Durai was offered a salary of $30,000 a month but he chose to accept only $25,000, a $7,000 increase over his previous wage. The increment was backdated 11 months, amounting to an extra $77,000.
- From September 1997 to October 2003, his overtime pay amounted to $187,000.
- From May 1995 to November 2003, he encashed his leave entitlement brought in another $350,000.
- In 2004 Durai chalked up an average bill of $32,952 per month on his corporate credit card.
- In 2004 $70,000 was spent on a "study trip" to Las Vegas for six of NKF's staff, including Durai, to get fresh ideas on doing charity shows.
- In 2004 $430,000 on movie and concert tickets were given free to "nurture" donors
- Staff received pay increments as often as four times a year. Former director Matilda Chua's salary rose from $1,300 to $12,500 over nine years.
- Staff were given exit payments of up to 10 months' salary.
- Durai used NKF funds to pay bills relating to his wife's Mercedes, including paying for petrol and repairing the car.
- In 2004 NKF made a surplus of $993,677 from drug sales. Although NKF claimed it helped its patients save over $3.5 million in treatment costs, it had charged its patients a premium for certain discounted drugs, instead of passing the savings on to them.
Private life
It was reported that Durai spent much of his time reading at home and spending time with his wife, two sons, who are serving National Service, and his daughter who is currently studying at a junior college. Before the KPMG report was out, his daughter wrote a passionate letter to the news media, pleading for the public to restore honour to her father. He refrains from reading newspapers and watching television after the controversy.Durai said that he is prepared for the worst, referring to any legal charges that would be laid on him.
In an affidavit submitted to the high court on September 7, 2007, he revealed that has secured a high paying job. He had accepted the position of CEO of a new subsidiary company under Singapore-based real estate management firm Property Facility Services (PFS) - a job which will pay him $25,000 a month.
Durai will be based full-time in Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi , literally Father of Gazelle, is the capital and the second largest city of the United Arab Emirates in terms of population and the largest of the seven member emirates of the United Arab Emirates. Abu Dhabi lies on a T-shaped island jutting into the Persian Gulf from the central western...
in the United Arab Emirates
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates, abbreviated as the UAE, or shortened to "the Emirates", is a state situated in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia on the Persian Gulf, bordering Oman, and Saudi Arabia, and sharing sea borders with Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and Iran.The UAE is a...
after his sentence is over.
Charges and bail
Durai was formally accused of having submitted false invoices between 2003 and 2004 to the NKF to make claims for various consultancy services which were never rendered. One invoice was for $20,000 and the other, $5,000. Durai was said to have misled the charity by using the false invoices "knowingly . . . with intent to deceive (the NKF)". Anyone who uses a false or erroneous document, which to his knowledge is intended to mislead, is guilty of an offence under Section 6(c) of the Prevention of Corruption Act.Durai was released on bail of $100,000 which was posted by his wife.
On June 11, 2007, Durai was found guilty of misleading the charitable organisation with a falsified invoice of $20,000 which was allegedly for interior design consultancy work done by David Tan, director of the design firm. The invoice, dated December 29, 2003, was meant for work done for various dialysis centres. For this, Durai was sentenced to three months in jail
Changi Prison
Changi Prison is a prison located in Changi in the eastern part of Singapore.-First prison and POW camp:...
on June 21. He could have been jailed for up to five years and fined $100,000.
On May 30, 2008, he lost the appeal as Justice Tay Yong Kwang said Durai "was in a position of trust and authority at the NKF and the return of the money only came about after investigations into the invoices were underway."
He added that the "money in question belonged to a charity whose funds come from well meaning trusting donors".
His sentence was maintained. However, the judge allowed Durai to defer his sentence to June 10, 2008 because his elderly mother went for a cataract surgery on June 3.
A second charge, concerning the $5,000 invoice, was considered on June 27, 2007. The money was allegedly paid to a company called Decision One International, in September 2003, for finding suitable candidates for a senior management position in the organisation. However, investigations reveal that no such service was rendered to NKF. The charge was later dropped.
He was released from Queenstown Remand Prison at 10.43am on 11 August 2008.
Dengue fever
On July 16, 2007, Durai was admitted to National University HospitalNational University Hospital
The National University Hospital , established in 1985, is Singapore's only university hospital. It serves as a tertiary hospital as well as a clinical training centre and a research centre for the medical and dental faculties of the National University of Singapore...
after contracting dengue fever. His condition was reportedly stable.
External links
- Official website of the NKF
- The NKF: Controversially ahead of its time?, a posting on an Internet forum of Susan Long's April 19, 2004 report in The Straits TimesThe Straits TimesThe Straits Times is an English language daily broadsheet newspaper based in Singapore currently owned by Singapore Press Holdings . It is the country's highest-selling paper, with a current daily circulation of nearly 400,000...
. (Note: the forum discussion link on channelnewasia.com is now dead. This link is still kept here, though for an "FYI".) - Ministerial Statement by Health Minister Khaw Boon WanKhaw Boon WanKhaw Boon Wan is a politician from Singapore. He is currently the country's Minister for National Development and the Chairman of the governing People's Action Party . He was previously the Minister for Health from August 2004 to May 2011...
in the Parliament of SingaporeParliament of SingaporeThe Parliament of the Republic of Singapore and the President jointly make up the legislature of Singapore. Parliament is unicameral and is made up of Members of Parliament who are elected, as well as Non-constituency Members of Parliament and Nominated Members of Parliament who are appointed... - KPMG report on NKF