SINGAPORE, August 7, 2018 (Straits Times): The chairman of one of Singapore’s oldest Hindu temples has been removed from his post after a probe found “severe mismanagement” in how the temple was run. Mr. Sivakadacham, who goes by one name, can no longer act as a board member or trustee of the Sri Veeramakaliamman Temple in Serangoon Road, the Commissioner of Charities said yesterday. “The Commissioner of Charities is satisfied that there has been mismanagement in the administration of the charity for which Sivakadacham was responsible for, or privy to, or had by his conduct contributed to or facilitated.”
In April, the Commissioner said a probe found a “severe lack of care and prudence” by key board members as guardians of the temple’s charitable assets between January 2011 and July 2014. Internal controls were nearly “non-existent”. Such behaviour had put the temple’s funds and assets at risk. Mr. Sivakadacham’s removal comes some three months after the Charities Commissioner, Dr. Ang Hak Seng, suspended him from the post. Built in 1855, the Sri Veeramakaliamman Temple is one of Singapore’s oldest Hindu shrines and a landmark in the Little India area. In response to queries from The Straits Times, the temple management committee said that it has since put in place proper board governance and internal controls.