SingPost fined record $300,000 for failing to meet service standards in 2018

SINGAPORE - SingPost has been fined $300,000 for failing to meet standards on the delivery of local and international basic letters and registered basic mail in 2018, its highest fine to date.

The fine by the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) on Friday (March 29) is triple the penalty SingPost received in February for failing to meet regulatory standards in 2017.

SingPost had 20 incidents of non-compliance in 2018, compared to nine in 2017, IMDA said in a statement. There were also repeated failures last year - some of which involved lost letters - and this was taken into account when determining the fine, it added.

Investigations of a case involving a postman who discarded mail meant for residents of Reflections at Keppel Bay last year have also been completed, IMDA said.

China national Liu Zhengang had been found in breach of the Postal Services Act and barred from employment in Singapore. He was sacked last year after a video catching him in the act surfaced.

He has returned to China and will be arrested if he comes back to Singapore, the regulator said, adding that it reserves the right to prosecute him.

An advisory has also been issued to SingPost to remind the postal service provider of its obligations to safeguard mail integrity and security, and to train and educate its staff to perform their task properly, IMDA said.

Under the Postal Quality of Service standards, SingPost is required to deliver between 98 and 99 per cent of local basic letters within one working day, and 100 per cent within two working days.

It failed to complete these deliveries by the second working day over nine months last year. SingPost also did not deliver 100 per cent of registered basic letters by the second working day over four months.

In addition, it failed the requirement of delivering international incoming basic letters within the central business district by the next working day for three months last year.

IMDA noted, however, that the failure margins in 2018 were generally lower on average compared to the year before, and that SingPost has implemented measures to address service issues, including hiring more postmen and extending delivery slots for basic mail parcels to weekday evenings and on Saturdays.

SingPost said in response to queries that it accepts the financial penalty. It is conducting a "comprehensive and fundamental review of our postal operations", in addition to the recent measures , a spokesman said.

The review will include the use of new technologies to raise reliability and service standards.

"We are confident that service quality will improve going forward," SingPost said.

This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.