SINGAPORE – An accountant, who failed to do her job and place $8.5 million in a fixed deposit, has been ordered to pay more than $119,000 in damages to her former employer for breaching her contractual duties.
Stamford Land Management, a unit of mainboard-listed hotel operator Stamford Land Corporation, had sought $119,490.14 – the amount of interest it could have earned over five months had the sum of $8.5 million been placed in a fixed deposit instead of sitting in a current account.
The company contended that the accountant Nur Aniza Mohd Shah’s breach of duties caused it to suffer losses. They said she also submitted false documents to her superior to cover up her omission.
In a written judgment issued on July 17, District Judge Tay Jingxi allowed the claim in full, saying the defendant was “at least negligent” in failing to place the sum in a fixed deposit.
She rejected Aniza’s argument that the placement of fixed deposits did not fall within her contractual scope of duties and was not stated in her job description.
The judge said that Aniza was contractually obliged by a clause of the employee handbook to obey her supervisor’s “lawful and reasonable instructions”.
Aniza was explicitly informed by her supervisor of her duties, which included placing fixed deposits, the judge noted.
“Her failure to place the sum in an FD despite this knowledge evinces a lack of the care, diligence, and effort required by the terms of her employment contract,” said the judge.
The judge said her carelessness and lack of attention deprived the company of the interest it would otherwise have earned.
She also found that Aniza had made fraudulent misrepresentations to create the false impression that the current account had a significantly lower balance and that the $8.5 million had been placed in a fixed deposit.
These actions fell afoul of the clause in the employee handbook, which prohibits employees from committing theft, fraud or dishonesty in connection with the company’s property.
The judge said: “By these lies, the defendant concealed her breach – her failure to place the sum in an FD – and prevented the claimant from investigating her conduct.”
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