‘Mr POSB’ Bertie Cheng dies from Covid-19; son urges seniors to get vaccinated
SINGAPORE — Known by some as “Mr POSB”, the former chief executive officer (CEO) of the bank Bertie Cheng Shao Shiong died on Friday morning (Oct 22) from Covid-19 at the age of 84.He was not vaccinated against the coronavirus, his son Alvin Cheng, 44, told TODAY.
“My father was a kind and generous man, and he had enjoyed a good life,” said Mr Cheng, who works as a retail assistant at a grocery store.
“We had tried very hard to convince him to get the vaccine for his own good, but he had been reluctant to do so,” added the younger of two sons. “He was just not keen on vaccines.”
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The family’s worst fears were realised when the elder Cheng, who had high blood pressure and diabetes, tested positive for Covid-19 late last month after developing a sore throat and cough.He had been warded at National University Hospital for three weeks before his death at 1.45am on Friday.
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The death certificate listed the coronavirus as a factor in his death.
His son urged elderly Singaporeans who are still unvaccinated to get the jab as soon as they can for their own protection against the coronavirus.
“I count it as God’s blessing that my father was able to pass away peacefully, instead of having to suffer at the intensive care unit,” he said.
Cheng, who retired from POSBank in 1997 prior to its acquisition by DBS Group Holdings the following year, had served as POSB’s CEO for 23 years. He had worked at the bank for more than three decades, when the Post Office Savings Bank — as it was then known — was still a statutory board under the Ministry of Communication, and later, the Ministry of Finance.
Under his leadership, POSB became the first bank to adopt computerisation, going digital in 1974. Cheng adopted the trademark key logo for the bank and pushed for the introduction of ATMs around the Republic in 1976, and was instrumental in building the bank’s identity as a “people’s bank”.
In 2010, DBS chief executive officer Piyush Gupta invited Cheng to return to POSB as an advisor in a time when the bank was losing customers to its rivals, partly due to long queues at ATM machines.
POSB does not disclose customer data to third parties without consent
Mr Gupta had described Cheng as an “iconic” leader of the bank during its early years.
Besides POSB, Cheng had served as a director of several listed companies, including Hong Leong Finance, engineering company TEE International, infocommunications firm TeleChoice International, Brunei bank Baiduri, and seafood firm Pacific Andes Resources Development.
He had previously served as a board member of NTUC Childcare Co-operative, as well as a chairman of the Medifund Committee of Singapore General Hospital and the vice-chairman of the Consumer Association of Singapore Endowment Fund.
Cheng was a recipient of the Public Administration Medal (Silver) in 1984 and the Public Service Medal in 2001. In 2008, Cheng also received the Friend of Labour Award from the labour movement.
He is survived by his widow and two sons. TODAY has reached out to DBS for comment.
