Stunning relevation about $500,000 GIC housing loan in Ong Seh Hong's testimony

[londontrader]

The question NOW is whether he is suitable to be a MP given his frame of mind? He served his own interest before public interest & sick interest.

He took a bridging loan which he paid back, which is common practice for Snr mgt appts. He was appointed to a professional position in the hospital. He wasn't a volunteer who agreed to work for free. He didn't take a gift from the charity or misuse the funds.

So why are you treating him like TT Durai?
You should take issue with Ren Ci's mgt at the time, if you feel that the charity has no business giving out loans.

I'm not a PAP supporter by any means, but I believe we need to be fair to everyone.

 

[JohnTT]

He took a bridging loan which he paid back, which is common practice for Snr mgt appts. He was appointed to a professional position in the hospital. He wasn't a volunteer who agreed to work for free. He didn't take a gift from the charity or misuse the funds.

So why are you treating him like TT Durai?
You should take issue with Ren Ci's mgt at the time, if you feel that the charity has no business giving out loans.

I'm not a PAP supporter by any means, but I believe we need to be fair to everyone.

It takes 2 hands to form a handshake.

I am also not an anti-PAP supporter by any means, but I believe we need to be fair to everyone.

 

[littlefish]

I am just curious about one thing. Why did he leave GIC to join Renci, a charitable organisation? There are only a few possibilities in my mind:

1) Renci will be giving him a higher pay
2) He sees more career opportunities in Renci (or at least a high chance to make even more money in Renci)
3) He wants to be involved in charity work (note that this does not mean he should take a pay cut but it may mean that he needs to give up his ambitions)
4) He has good friends in Renci and he wants to work with them (again, the connotations here are the same as 3 as Renci is a charitable organisation)

If either (3) or (4) do not hold true or he made the move because of (1) or (2), then it is worrying as it points to some flaw in charitable organisations here and/or in him.

 

[Porfirio Rubirosa]

And herein lies the thorny moral problem

In the real world, discounted housing loans and car loans for executives are every day perks of any real corporate employer. .

 

[Porfirio Rubirosa]

Did a public charitable org like Renci really need to "poach" Ong? And even if it did, was it totally transparent to the public over such "corporate" practices?

What rubbish are you talking about? Renci didn't give him the money. It lent him $60k to make up for the amount he needed to repay GIC. Renci should have lent him the full amount that GIC lent him if it wanted to poach him.

 

[Porfirio Rubirosa]

Perhaps the more pertinent questions are:

1. Renci being a public charitable org should it be adopting such "corporate" practices in the first place?

2. If so, should Renci be totally transparent to the public over such issues?

Dear John

The fact that he accepted 60,000 in the form of a loan from Ren Ci to help pay off the balance of his GIC loan was proper.


Locke

 

[Porfirio Rubirosa]

I gather Ong was not an MP at the material time.

I get your picture. Proper documentation is one thing, but rather as a MP, he should be sensitive towards citizens' needs, & not deprive the needy patients from treatment by asking for $60k as loan. A MP is to help people, & not become a liability to people.

 

[Porfirio Rubirosa]

This is not a u-turn just a rethink

14) Why yesterday he mentioned he do not want to comment on this $60K at this point of time as the trial is still going on and in less than 24 hours, he spilled out everything??!!

 

[Porfirio Rubirosa]

Ypu have a point no doubt...however regardless of the fact that Ong's appointment was a "professional" one, Renci is still a public charitable org...and this complicates matters...and now Ong is an MP, well perception wise does not look too good for his character...just look at his own statement to CNA, comes across defensive and a tad self serving.

He took a bridging loan which he paid back, which is common practice for Snr mgt appts. He was appointed to a professional position in the hospital. He wasn't a volunteer who agreed to work for free. He didn't take a gift from the charity or misuse the funds.

So why are you treating him like TT Durai?
You should take issue with Ren Ci's mgt at the time, if you feel that the charity has no business giving out loans.

I'm not a PAP supporter by any means, but I believe we need to be fair to everyone.

 

[commoner]

its just a loan,,,,, not really a big deal....

the thing peculiar is... he approved many loans, besides yeung who was not exactly an employee that time,,,, why blow the MP's loan so large unless there's something fishy or someone trying to discredit the MP or the wood head whom the MP is in the grc

 

[alvin36]

its just a loan,,,,, not really a big deal....

the thing peculiar is... he approved many loans, besides yeung who was not exactly an employee that time,,,, why blow the MP's loan so large unless there's something fishy or someone trying to discredit the MP or the wood head whom the MP is in the grc

yes.. i agree. a loan of 60k is not a big deal... is just a brigding loan for housing purpose.

BUT what surprised me is he treat this as a condition to join Renci ??
a 60k loan can affect a decision to make a career switch ??
what kind of creditability or character is this person ? especially he is hired for a high post

 

[sage]

He must be the best or only one available for the ceo job. A sort of die die must employ him scenario. A ceo ought to know what is proper governance for a public charity. If he repaid the loan, with interest, before becoming an mp, I think he had not taken advantage of the situation or of the monk and we should give him the benefit of doubt.

 

[nextinfidel]

all these aside. most of us won't feel any pain as we don't donate to NKF or that fraudulent monk. first NKF, now Renci, what's next? CDAC??

ask yourself, do you donate to CDAC? when are you going to stop that?
only when some director of CDAC gets exposed in the media about his mercedes benz and maurice lacroix, porsches and pradas?

ARE YOU GOING TO STOP DONATING TO CDAC ONLY WHEN A SCANDAL COMES OUT???

 

[nextinfidel]

More questions for Dr Ong
Friday, 17 April 2009, 11:14 am | 1,971 views
The following is an email query sent to Dr Ong Seh Hong, MP for Marine Parade GRC, regarding the$60,000 loan he took from Ren Ci Hospital. The email was sent on Friday, 17 April 2009. TOC is awaiting his reply.

Dear Dr Ong,

I am writing this email query on behalf of The Online Citizen (www.theonlinecitizen.com).

We are aware of the letter you wrote to Channelnewsasia providing some background to your $60,000 loan from Ren Ci Hospital. We would like to ask you several follow-up questions relating to the loan.

Given the charitable nature of the organization and concerns members of the public might have regarding the appropriateness of this transaction, we hope you will use this as an opportunity to clarify.

The questions are:


1) Was the loan declared and publicly disclosed in Ren Ci’s accounts?

2) Why did you choose to take the loan from Ren Ci instead of the banks?

3) Did you pay interest on the loan, and if so, was the interest rate comparable to then-prevailing market rates?

4) What was the timeline for repayment of the loan and did you comply with it?

5) When did you complete repayment of the loan?

6) Did you declare this loan to the People’s Action Party selection committee?

I look forward to your speedy reply. As these questions are of interest to my readers and the public at large, this set of queries will be published on The Online Citizen at the same time it is sent to you. We hope to receive a response from you by the end of this working day. Your response will be published as a separate article.

Regards,

Choo Zheng Xi

Editor-in-Chief

The Online Citizen

 

[nextinfidel]

2) Why did you choose to take the loan from Ren Ci instead of the banks?

3) Did you pay interest on the loan, and if so, was the interest rate comparable to then-prevailing market rates?

Renci obviously gives him interest free loans or a low interest rate loan.
otherwise, why would he loan from Renci instead of the banks ?

A charitable organisation giving out lower interest rate or zero interest rate loans to PAP ministers.....fantastic.

Can Renci loan me $60,000 too, zero interest rate for a year ? I promise I will return them in a year's time.

Someone please tell me which bank offers the highest deposit interest rate for $60,000?

 

[rainnix]

The question NOW is whether he is suitable to be a MP given his frame of mind? He served his own interest before public interest & sick interest.

Is RenCi a "charitable" organization that gives bailouts to MPs? This litter-bug Ong is using his position to leverage his hands on 60k loan speaks a lot about his character.

 

[londontrader]

It takes 2 hands to form a handshake.

I am also not an anti-PAP supporter by any means, but I believe we need to be fair to everyone.

Just to be clear
In your opinion, what was wrong with his end of the handshake

I have no axe to grind if:

1. It was a bridging loan to facilitate a transition to a new appointment
2. The loan was temporary
3. It was interest bearing
4. There was full transparency and accountability

 

[londontrader]

I am just curious about one thing. Why did he leave GIC to join Renci, a charitable organisation? There are only a few possibilities in my mind:

1) Renci will be giving him a higher pay
2) He sees more career opportunities in Renci (or at least a high chance to make even more money in Renci)
3) He wants to be involved in charity work (note that this does not mean he should take a pay cut but it may mean that he needs to give up his ambitions)
4) He has good friends in Renci and he wants to work with them (again, the connotations here are the same as 3 as Renci is a charitable organisation)

If either (3) or (4) do not hold true or he made the move because of (1) or (2), then it is worrying as it points to some flaw in charitable organisations here and/or in him.

If a charity can run an efficient operation based on criteria 3 & 4, then well done!
I suspect that one needs a combination of 1 & 2 as well. Afterall, who really suffers if a charity can't achieve it's aims because of poor staffing.

 

[nextinfidel]

Former Ren Ci CEO Ming Yi approved several loans to staff
By Liang Kaixin, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 17 April 2009 0826 hrs

SINGAPORE: The sixth day of the trial against former Ren Ci CEO, Shi Ming Yi, threw light on the way staff loans were granted, even though the hospital did not have a formal policy on them in place.

The court on Thursday heard that Ming Yi had approved several loans to various staff.

Among them was Dr Ong Seh Hong who is currently the community hospital's chief operating officer and clinical director of Ren Ci Hospital and Medicare Centre. Dr Ong is also a Member of Parliament for Marine Parade GRC.

When contacted by Channel NewsAsia, the MP said in a letter dated Friday: "I was an employee of GIC in 1999. I was offered by Ren Ci Hospital and Medicare Centre to be Director, Medical & Paramedical Services in January 2000.

"However to leave GIC, I had to pay S$560,000 to settle my outstanding staff housing loan. I agreed to join Ren Ci on condition that I received a loan of S$60,000, to pay off in part the amount of S$560,000 and I paid the remaining S$500,000 from bank loan.

“When I borrowed the sum of S$60,000 from Ren Ci, I was not an MP. It was lent to me as staff, and was part of the terms on which I agreed to join Ren Ci. I have since repaid the sum fully."

The court also learnt that Ming Yi's former aide, Raymond Yeung, was offered an employment contract in 2001, despite his unsuccessful application for an employment pass.

Ming Yi subsequently granted Yeung a S$50,000 loan, even though the latter remained without an employment pass until 2004. This was recorded on Ren Ci's books as a loan made to Mandala Buddhist Cultural Centre.

At issue now is whether Yeung, who is an Australian citizen and only became a Singapore Permanent Resident in 2006, had received the loan as a legitimate Ren Ci employee.

The trial continues.

 

[londontrader]

Ypu have a point no doubt...however regardless of the fact that Ong's appointment was a "professional" one, Renci is still a public charitable org...and this complicates matters...and now Ong is an MP, well perception wise does not look too good for his character...just look at his own statement to CNA, comes across defensive and a tad self serving.

Yes, Ong is looking like a defensive dick head. Doesn't speak well of the PAP's much vaulted selection system! Sadly, I can't say that Ong's achievements as an MP leap out of the page.

However, to be fair to him (dick heads deserve that too) I have no axe to grind over a bridging loan to facilitate a transition. What Ong should have done is to be SINCERE, OPEN & CLEAR about this matter from the start.

The real issue has to do with the mgt at Ren Ci. That's why the monk has been hauled to the dock and not the less than impressive MP. We should also remember that Ren Ci is running a hospital which doesn't get by on hugs and kisses. A professional team invariably means some form of corporate remuneration. It is an uneasy compromise (as we can see from the remarks here) but one that has to be made.