SingPost fined RM900,000 for failing to meet standards

SinGaPORE: SingPost has been fined S$300,000 (RM902,975) for failing to meet standards on the delivery of local and international basic letters and registered basic mail in 2018, its highest fine to date.

The fine by the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) yesterday is triple the penalty SingPost received in February for failing to meet regulatory standards in 2017.

SingPost had 20 incidents of non-compliance in 2018, compared to nine in 2017, IMDA said in a statement. There were also repeated failures last year – some of which involved lost letters – and this was taken into account when determining the fine, it added.

Investigations of a case involving a postman who discarded mail meant for residents of Reflections at Keppel Bay last year have also been completed, IMDA said.

China national Liu Zhengang had been found in breach of the Postal Services Act and barred from employment in Singapore. He was sacked last year after a video catching him in the act surfaced.

He has returned to China and will be arrested if he comes back to Singapore, the regulator said, adding that it reserves the right to prosecute him.

An advisory has also been issued to SingPost to remind the postal service provider of its obligations to safeguard mail integrity and security, and to train and educate its staff to perform their task properly, IMDA said.

Under the IMDA’s Postal Quality of Service standards, SingPost has to deliver between 98% and 99% of local basic letters in one working day, and 100% in two working days.

It failed to complete these deliveries by the second working day over nine months last year.

SingPost also did not deliver 100% of registered basic letters by the second working day over four months. — The Straits Times/Asia news Network