Ex-employee sues GlobalFoundries for at least $528k alleging wrongful dismissal

Leong Ing Wah, who was a manager at the chipmaker, is seeking at least $528,000, mostly for loss of earnings stemming from mental distress.

Published Sep 27, 2026, 05:30 PM

Updated Sep 27, 2026, 05:30 PM

Leong Ing Wah sued GlobalFoundries Singapore for wrongful dismissal, seeking at least $528,000 after being summarily dismissed during a corruption probe that cleared him of wrongdoing.

GlobalFoundries claimed Leong breached procurement policies and admitted misconduct, leading to his dismissal following internal investigations and meetings in 2023.

Leong denied influencing procurement, suffered mental distress, and alleged unfair treatment and reputational damage from false rumours after his termination.

SINGAPORE – A former longtime employee of GlobalFoundries Singapore who was sacked in 2023 amid corruption investigations at the semiconductor manufacturer has sued the company for wrongful dismissal.

He is also claiming for future loss of earnings and expenses to be assessed by the High Court.

In court documents seen by The Straits Times, Leong alleged that the company had dismissed him in an attempt to distance itself from the investigations by the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB).

He claimed that GlobalFoundries Singapore, formerly known as Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing, was biased against him and had already predetermined that he would be dismissed when allegations of bribery were made about him and another manager .

The probe concluded in 2024 with CPIB dropping the case against Leong. The other employee was sentenced to six months’ jail and a fine of $47,600.

Leong contended that he was not given adequate notice or a fair opportunity to respond to the allegations in a letter of summary dismissal that was handed to him after a meeting on Aug 1, 2023.

He alleged that the meeting was a “farce” concocted by the company to justify its decision to summarily dismiss him.

“The defendant’s conduct smacks of bad faith towards a long-serving employee of over 27.5 years,” he said in his statement of claim.

He said he was diagnosed with adjustment disorder and suffered from insomnia as a result of the dismissal.

GlobalFoundries denied the allegations, asserting that Leong’s dismissal was not pre-determined.

In its defence, the company contended that it had conducted due inquiry, adding that Leong was given the opportunity to be heard and explain his account.

The company said the interviewers at the meeting took him through various documents relating to the tender, including e-mails and quotations.

It said senior management decided to terminate his employment after the Aug 1 meeting, during which he admitted to disclosing the company’s budget for a tender to a vendor.

The company said Leong had acted in flagrant breach of its code of conduct and procurement policies, matters that are independent and separate from the CPIB investigations.

The civil case is pending in court. The next case conference is scheduled for Nov 16.

Leong started at the company in 1996 as an associate engineer, before becoming a manager in 2013.

In September 2021, he took over the management of a project where four vendors were invited to provide quotations for the tender.

In late 2022, CPIB began investigating allegations of bribery involving one of the vendors, Yufar Precision Engineering, which had won a large part of the total bid awarded.

Amid the probe, Leong was asked to attend two meetings with the company’s then director of legal and its then deputy director of internal audit.

He alleged that the procedures adopted and the manner of investigations during the two meetings, held on June 21 and Aug 1, 2023, “amounted to a hatchet job”.

He said the company did not tell him it was conducting any board of inquiry hearing or disciplinary proceedings against him. He said he was not informed about any allegations that he had to address during the meetings.

But GlobalFoundries said Leong was told via e-mail that its ethics and compliance office was conducting an investigation.

The company said it only learnt on June 19, 2023 that Leong was questioned by the CPIB, and wanted to know whether it was for the same matter as the other employee.

The company said the June 21 meeting served as a fact-finding exercise, as Leong had failed to notify the company about the matter.

The company claimed that during this meeting, Leong became visibly agitated and defensive when asked about his involvement in procurement and matters involving Yufar.

It said Leong’s answers showed that he and his team had received favours and benefits from Yufar’s managing director, including holiday accommodation and meals.

This contravened the company’s gifts and entertainment policy, it said.

Following the June 21 meeting, the company carried out internal investigations.

It learnt that Yufar’s boss had e-mailed the quotations directly to Leong on three occasions before the vendor formally submitted them to the relevant team.

On all three occasions, the figures in the initial quotations were revised by Y ufar such that it was the lowest bidder.

The company said that during the Aug 1 meeting, Leong was clearly told of the allegations against him, was given ample time to read and consider each document, and was allowed to explain himself.

But Leong said he did not have a reasonable opportunity to review or trace the e-mails to prepare his defence, or to present other evidence or bring in witnesses.

He said about 30 minutes after the meeting, the human resource director handed him the letter terminating his employment with immediate effect.

The letter stated that he had been found guilty of gross misconduct because he admitted to influencing the company’s procurement process.

Leong said he was “shocked and surprised” by the abrupt decision, but was told there was no avenue of appeal.

He said he did not disclose the company’s budget to Yufar, and that it was an employee from the procurement department who had done so.

Leong said he did not influence the procurement process, nor did he admit to doing so during the meetings.

Leong added that after he was dismissed, untruths were spread that he was fired for receiving kick-backs, that he was handcuffed by the police, and was sentenced to a jail term.

He contended that as a result, he suffered impaired future employment prospects as well as impaired reputation in the semiconductor industry.

Leong is represented by Melanie Ho and Jolyn Khoo from WongPartnership, while GlobalFoundries is represented by Edric Pan from Dentons Rodyk.

Selina Lum is senior law correspondent at The Straits Times.

曾任芯片制造商经理的梁英华 (Leong Ing Wah) 寻求至少 52.8 万美元的赔偿，主要原因是精神痛苦造成的收入损失。

发布于2026年9月27日下午5:30

更新于2026年9月27日下午5:30

梁英华起诉 GlobalFoundries 新加坡公司，指控其非法解雇，并要求赔偿至少 528,000 美元。此前，该公司在一次腐败调查中解雇了他，但调查结果证明他没有做错任何事。

GlobalFoundries 声称梁某违反了采购政策并承认行为不当，导致其在 2023 年经过内部调查和会议后被解雇。

梁先生否认影响采购，称其遭受精神痛苦，并声称被解雇后受到不公平对待，名誉也因谣言而受损。

新加坡——一名曾在GlobalFoundries新加坡公司长期任职的员工，因半导体制造商GlobalFoundries在2023年卷入腐败调查而被解雇，他已就非法解雇一事起诉该公司。

他还要求赔偿未来的收入损失和相关费用，具体金额将由高等法院评估。

《海峡时报》看到的法庭文件中，梁某声称，该公司解雇他是为了与贪污调查局 (CPIB) 的调查撇清关系。

他声称，GlobalFoundries Singapore（前身为Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing）对他有偏见，并且在有人指控他和另一位经理受贿时，就已经预先决定要解雇他。

调查于2024年结束，贪污调查局撤销了对梁某的指控。另一名员工被判处六个月监禁和47,600新元的罚款。

梁先生辩称，在 2023 年 8 月 1 日的一次会议后，他收到了一封即决解雇信，信中没有给他充分的通知或公平的机会来回应这些指控。

他声称，这次会议是公司为了证明其立即解雇他的决定是合理的而精心策划的“闹剧”。

他在诉状中说：“被告的行为明显是对一位服务超过 27.5 年的长期员工的恶意对待。”

他说，被解雇后，他被诊断出患有适应障碍，并饱受失眠之苦。

GlobalFoundries否认了这些指控，并声称Leong的解雇并非预先决定的。

该公司辩称，他们已进行了适当的调查，并补充说，他们给了梁某机会陈述并解释他的说法。

该公司表示，面试官在会议上向他详细介绍了与投标相关的各种文件，包括电子邮件和报价单。

声明称，在 8 月 1 日的会议上，他承认向供应商泄露了公司投标预算，之后高层管理人员决定终止他的雇佣关系。

该公司表示，梁某的行为公然违反了公司的行为准则和采购政策，这些事项与贪污调查局的调查是独立且分开的。

该民事案件仍在法院审理中。下次案件会议定于11月16日举行。

梁先生于 1996 年加入公司，担任助理工程师，之后于 2013 年晋升为经理。

2021 年 9 月，他接管了一个项目的管理工作，该项目邀请了四家供应商提供投标报价。

2022 年末，贪污调查局开始调查有关其中一家供应商 Yufar Precision Engineering 的贿赂指控，该公司赢得了大部分投标合同。

在调查期间，梁某被要求与该公司当时的法律总监和内部审计副总监举行两次会议。

他声称，在 2023 年 6 月 21 日和 8 月 1 日举行的两次会议上所采取的程序和调查方式“简直就是一场恶意抹黑”。

他说，公司并未告知他要对他进行任何调查听证或纪律处分程序。他还说，他事先没有被告知需要在会议上回应的任何指控。

但 GlobalFoundries 表示，Leong 已通过电子邮件被告知，其道德与合规办公室正在进行调查。

该公司表示，直到 2023 年 6 月 19 日才得知梁某被贪污调查局讯问，并想知道是否与另一名员工的案件是同一事件。

该公司表示，6 月 21 日的会议是一次事实调查，因为梁某未能就此事通知公司。

该公司声称，在这次会议上，当被问及梁先生参与采购以及与余发有关的事宜时，梁先生明显变得激动和防卫。

报告称，梁的回答表明他和他的团队从裕发的总经理那里得到了好处和利益，包括度假住宿和餐饮。

该公司表示，这违反了公司的礼品和招待政策。

6月21日会议后，该公司进行了内部调查。

据了解，在供应商正式将报价提交给相关团队之前，Yufar 的老板曾三次直接通过电子邮件将报价发送给 Leong。

在这三次竞标中，余法尔都修改了最初报价中的数字，使其成为最低报价者。

该公司表示，在 8 月 1 日的会议上，梁某被明确告知了针对他的指控，并有充足的时间阅读和考虑每份文件，且被允许解释自己。

但梁先生表示，他没有合理的机会审查或追踪这些电子邮件来准备辩护，也没有机会出示其他证据或传唤证人。

他说，会议结束后大约 30 分钟，人力资源总监递给他一封信，终止了他的雇佣关系，立即生效。

信中指出，他被认定犯有严重不当行为，因为他承认影响了公司的采购流程。

梁先生表示，他对这一突如其来的决定感到“震惊和意外”，但被告知没有上诉的途径。

他说他没有向尤法尔透露公司的预算，是采购部门的一名员工透露的。

梁先生表示他没有干预采购过程，在会议上也没有承认自己这样做过。

梁先生补充说，在他被解雇后，有不实消息传出，说他因收受回扣而被解雇，说他被警察戴上手铐，并被判处监禁。

他认为，因此，他的未来就业前景受损，在半导体行业的声誉也受到损害。

Leong 的代理律师是 WongPartnership 的 Melanie Ho 和 Jolyn Khoo，而 GlobalFoundries 的代理律师是 Dentons Rodyk 的 Edric Pan。

Selina Lum是《海峡时报》的资深法律记者。