SINGAPORE: More trouble is brewing for Youth Challenge founder Vincent Lam .
The charity's new board has discovered that $15,220 had been electronically transferred over the internet without its authorisation.
The Board says it is lodging a police report, and it is also trying to get back part of the hundreds of thousands of dollars paid to Lam.
The new Board was roped in last October, after the Commissioner of Charities probed Youth Challenge following a complaint lodged by the National Council of Social Service in August, alleging breaches in the way the charity was run.
Some of the new Board members were former volunteers at the youth charity, while others were friends of Lam who approached them to help keep the charity's programmes going.
However, as members got down to work, even they were shocked at the salary paid to Lam.
"In our view it was extravagant. As the honourable Commissioner said, it's way above even for civil service standards. For example, a gratuity will be paid for every 5 years of service. So every 5 years, the percentage increases all the way to the 20th year! It comes to about 10 percent of the annual remuneration - this can work out to quite a substantial amount!" said Mr Looi Teck Kheong, President, Youth Challenge.
The first thing the Board did was to get rid of the gratuity package.
Last December, Lam wrote a cheque of $25,000 to be paid to himself as a performance bonus, but the Board refused to approve it and Lam did not get the two signatures needed for cheque approval.
It also moved to cut his salary from $13,500 to $6,400, which was approved at a 12th January board meeting 3 days before the charity's pay day.
Other benefits like medical and dental package, and travel perks were also slashed, and brought in line with the National Council of Social Service's guidelines.
However, it was not until the Board met the Commissioner of Charities on Monday that they found out the charity had an electronic payment facility.
This is against the charity's constitution which requires two levels of approval on funds.
Board members immediately went to the bank to cancel the internet banking facility, and that was when they were told that $15,220 had been electronically transferred out on the 15th January.
The amount is equivalent to Lam's previous monthly salary, plus that of the only other full-time staff.
"The police report that we're filing is really to put on record that there was such an internet transfer being effected. In our view of course we think it's probably not authorised but it's subject to investigation," said Mr Looi.
The new Board hopes to recover part of the $248,000 paid to Lam as remuneration at the end of the last financial year.
It is now checking with its auditors and lawyers on the grounds for recovery.
The Board has since retracted its earlier statement that Lam had not 'misappropriated' any money.
It is now conducting its own investigation to find out who from the previous boards approved Lam's extravagant pay packet.
In the meantime, it is suspending all fundraising activities as it puts its house in order.
However, programmes like youth humanitarian missions abroad, and Chinese New Year lunches for the elderly will still go ahead.
The charity has some $800,000 in reserves and believes it can survive on the money for two years.
The new Board is confident it can rectify the breaches and weakness in the charity's governance within the 6 months given by the Commissioner. - CNA /dt /ch