Was having lunch at a nearby coffeeshop when I overheard the following conversation between two neighbouring stall-holders.

"Did you read about the NKF case?" asked the noodles stall-holder.

"Yes and I was surprised by what NKF is doing with our money. I have always donated to it and now this is how they used the money?" replied the chicken rice vendor.

"Luckily, I'm smart and have not donated a single cent to them. Next time save your money, NKF is very rich already."

"Yeah I'll since they can afford to spend money on gold-plated taps they don't need my money."

I have also been following the court case between NKF and SPH closely. NKF was suing SPH for publishing an article which implied that the former has used public donations lavishly in the construction of the NKF headquarters. It was reported that expensive fittings like gold-plated taps ($990 each) and classy toilet bowls ($1100 each) were being installed in the bathroom of its CEO's office. NKF claimed that the report was misleading and defamatory and that it has tarnished its reputation. However, as the case progressed, it became clear that whatever that had been written were indeed true and NKF eventually withdrew its lawsuit. What came as a shock was the numerous "truths" that were being dug out during the trial. Other than the reported expensive fittings, it was revealed that its CEO is being paid a salary of $25 000 a month plus 10 to 12 months of yearly bonuses, all of which added up to almost $600 000. To the ordinary man in the street some of whom who don't even earn $25 000 a year, that's a lot of money to pay a man to manage the public donations which they thought were used solely to help kidney patients with their treatments. Now, it seems that the money raised through the various donation drives is not for the exclusive use by the kidney patients, the management has a share of the big pie too. Of course, I don't expect the employees of NKF to work on empty stomachs but being a charitable organisation I do expect them to be paid reasonably and more importantly to use the funds responsibly and sensibly. I used to make monthly contribution to NKF when I was still teaching, now I only make the occasion donations through some phone calls but after this incident I might think twice before making another call. Just like the two stall-holders who were doubtful about making another donation, I believe there are more of them out there waiting to withdraw their contributions. Eventually, it will be the kidney patients who are relying on the subsidies to lighten their financial load that would be affected by the boycott. Should we punish these helpless patients for the mismanagement ? Or should we just forget about the whole saga and continue to support NKF in its effort to help these innocent victims? Hopefully, the on-going drive by NKF to raise funds for cancer patients won't be affected. Perhaps things will go back to normal after NKF has cleared the air and made itself more transparent with regard to its management of the funds. Perhaps it will take a few years (its reserves can last up to 30 years without any further donation) before this episode is forgottten and donations start pouring in again. Have you made any donation to NKF recently? Or are you shifting your donation to another organisation?