Tan Tock Seng Hospital terminates blogger Roy Ngerng's employment contract

SINGAPORE - Mr Ngerng, 33, was employed on a yearly contract with TTSH for the past two years as a patient coordinator at the Communicable Disease Centre. The hospital said his supervisors found that "he was misusing TTSH time and resources to pursue personal and non-job-related interests".

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Tan Tock Seng Hospital's statement:

TTSH has terminated its contract with Mr Roy Ngerng with immediate effect because of conduct incompatible with the values and standards expected of employees, and for misusing working time, hospital computers and facilities for personal pursuits.

Mr Ngerng is a patient coordinator at the Communicable Disease Centre who has been employed on a yearly contract with TTSH for the past two years. His supervisors found that he was misusing TTSH time and resources to pursue personal and non-job-related interests. In May this year, TTSH issued him a formal letter warning him of his misconduct when his contract was up for renewal, but decided to give him a chance and renewed his contract.

However, Mr Ngerng disregarded the warning and continued to misuse company time and resources to access non-job related social media sites to pursue his personal interests.

In addition, Mr Ngerng's recent public actions and conduct have caused the Hospital grave concern. On 15 May 2014, he posted a defamatory article on the internet alleging misappropriation of funds in relation to the Central Provident Fund. After receiving a demand letter to remove the posts and apologise, Mr Ngerng publicly admitted to the defamation, and also that it was without basis.

Mr Ngerng's conduct was incompatible with the values and standards we expect of our employees. While our staff are free to pursue their personal interests outside work, they must conduct themselves properly, honourably and with integrity. In particular, they cannot defame someone else without basis, which essentially means knowingly stating a falsehood to the public.

Mr Ngerng's neglect of duty and his improper public conduct have compromised his work performance, and are contrary to the high standard of integrity required of the Hospital's employees to maintain the trust which is vital between the Hospital and the public. His continued disregard of the Hospital's warnings and advice has rendered his employment with TTSH untenable. The Hospital has therefore terminated Mr Ngerng's contract with immediate effect. In accordance with the terms of his contract, he received one month's salary in lieu of notice.

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Blogger Roy Ngerng fired by hospital

Blogger Roy Ngerng Yi Ling, who has been sued by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong for defamation, said on a Facebook post on Tuesday that he has been fired from his job at Tan Tock Seng Hospital.

He said in that post that "the stress of the court case had made it difficult for me to concentrate on my job. And my advocacy on the CPF has also taken a toil on my ability to do my job as well".

"I could have done a lot better over the past few months. My supervisors have been patient but they also have a responsibility to uphold and I respect that," he said.

sinsh@sph.com.sg