SINGAPORE – A former longtime employee of GlobalFoundries Singapore who was sacked in 2023 amid corruption investigations at the semiconductor manufacturer has sued the company for wrongful dismissal.
Leong Ing Wah, who was a manager at the chipmaker, is seeking at least $528,000, mostly for loss of earnings stemming from mental distress.
He is also claiming for future loss of earnings and expenses to be assessed by the High Court.
In court documents seen by The Straits Times, Leong alleged that the company had dismissed him in an attempt to distance itself from the investigations by the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB).
He claimed that GlobalFoundries Singapore, formerly known as Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing, was biased against him and had already predetermined that he would be dismissed when allegations of bribery were made about him and another manager.
The probe concluded in 2024 with CPIB dropping the case against Leong. The other employee was sentenced to six months’ jail and a fine of $47,600.
Leong contended that he was not given adequate notice or a fair opportunity to respond to the allegations in a letter of summary dismissal that was handed to him after a meeting on Aug 1, 2023.
He alleged that the meeting was a “farce” concocted by the company to justify its decision to summarily dismiss him.
“The defendant’s conduct smacks of bad faith towards a long-serving employee of over 27.5 years,” he said in his statement of claim.
He said he was diagnosed with adjustment disorder and suffered from insomnia as a result of the dismissal.
GlobalFoundries denied the allegations, asserting that Leong’s dismissal was not pre-determined.
In its defence, the company contended that it had conducted due inquiry, adding that Leong was given the opportunity to be heard and explain his account.
The company said the interviewers at the meeting took him through various documents relating to the tender, including e-mails and quotations.
It said senior management decided to terminate his employment after the Aug 1 meeting, during which he admitted to disclosing the company’s budget for a tender to a vendor.
The company said Leong had acted in flagrant breach of its code of conduct and procurement policies, matters that are independent and separate from the CPIB investigations.
The civil case is pending in court. The next case conference is scheduled for Nov 16.
Company probe
Leong started at the company in 1996 as an associate engineer, before becoming a manager in 2013.
In September 2021, he took over the management of a project where four vendors were invited to provide quotations for the tender.
In late 2022, CPIB began investigating allegations of bribery involving one of the vendors, Yufar Precision Engineering, which had won a large part of the total bid awarded.
Amid the probe, Leong was asked to attend two meetings with the company’s then director of legal and its then deputy director of internal audit.
He alleged that the procedures adopted and the manner of investigations during the two meetings, held on June 21 and Aug 1, 2023, “amounted to a hatchet job”.
He said the company did not tell him it was conducting any board of inquiry hearing or disciplinary proceedings against him. He said he was not informed about any allegations that he had to address during the meetings.
But GlobalFoundries said Leong was told via e-mail that its ethics and compliance office was conducting an investigation.
The company said it only learnt on June 19, 2023 that Leong was questioned by the CPIB, and wanted to know whether it was for the same matter as the other employee.
The company said the June 21 meeting served as a fact-finding exercise, as Leong had failed to notify the company about the matter.
The company claimed that during this meeting, Leong became visibly agitated and defensive when asked about his involvement in procurement and matters involving Yufar.
It said Leong’s answers showed that he and his team had received favours and benefits from Yufar’s managing director, including holiday accommodation and meals.
This contravened the company’s gifts and entertainment policy, it said.
Following the June 21 meeting, the company carried out internal investigations.
It learnt that Yufar’s boss had e-mailed the quotations directly to Leong on three occasions before the vendor formally submitted them to the relevant team.
On all three occasions, the figures in the initial quotations were revised by Yufar such that it was the lowest bidder.
The company said that during the Aug 1 meeting, Leong was clearly told of the allegations against him, was given ample time to read and consider each document, and was allowed to explain himself.
But Leong said he did not have a reasonable opportunity to review or trace the e-mails to prepare his defence, or to present other evidence or bring in witnesses.
He said about 30 minutes after the meeting, the human resource director handed him the letter terminating his employment with immediate effect.
The letter stated that he had been found guilty of gross misconduct because he admitted to influencing the company’s procurement process.
Leong said he was “shocked and surprised” by the abrupt decision, but was told there was no avenue of appeal.
He said he did not disclose the company’s budget to Yufar, and that it was an employee from the procurement department who had done so.
Leong said he did not influence the procurement process, nor did he admit to doing so during the meetings.
Leong added that after he was dismissed, untruths were spread that he was fired for receiving kick-backs, that he was handcuffed by the police, and was sentenced to a jail term.
He contended that as a result, he suffered impaired future employment prospects as well as impaired reputation in the semiconductor industry.
Leong is represented by Melanie Ho and Jolyn Khoo from WongPartnership, while GlobalFoundries is represented by Edric Pan from Dentons Rodyk.