A former insurance agent for
AXA Singapore was awarded $4 million SGD in damages by the High Court, after filing defamation proceedings against his former employer.
Ramesh Krishnan, 46, sued AXA for defamation in 2012. In the lawsuit, Ramesh accused AXA of defaming him when it provided references on his work performance to two prospective employers and the Monetary Authority of Singapore. He claimed that this cost him a compensation package of $2.25 million from Prudential and a $20,000 signing bonus from
Tokio Marine.
The High Court sided with AXA in 2015, but last year, the Court of Appeal ruled that AXA neglected its “duty of care” to him, Yahoo News Singapore reported. The court found that AXA provided incomplete, misleading, and unfair information about Ramesh.
The ruling penned by Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon said: “This caused Prudential not to employ him.” The Court of Appeal then asked the High Court to determine the value of the compensation to be awarded to Ramesh.
Judicial Commissioner George Wei said in a written judgement released on Monday that Ramesh and AXA were at “polar opposites” in assessing the damage. Ramesh had sought $63 million, while AXA felt just $1 would be fair.
Wei arrived at the $4 million amount based on the package offered by Prudential. This included a commencement bonus of $675,000 and a first month salary of $65,625, followed by a salary of $43,750 for 12 succeeding months. The court also deducted Ramesh’s earnings for the period he worked at a vegetarian cafe which he and his wife owned.
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