TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — An employee of Taiwan's Kang Hsuan Educational Publishing Group reportedly suffered workplace bullying after she was accused of being the "whistleblower" behind company chairman Lee Wan-chi's (李萬吉) quarantine violation in September.
On Sept. 11, Taiwan's health authorities issued a NT$1 million (US$34,161) fine to Lee for breaking home quarantine restriction following his return from China. Lee was found to have gone out six times during the 14-day quarantine period without a mask and deliberately leaving behind his mobile phone each time to avoid monitoring.
Media reports also suggested that Lee participated in a company meeting, in person, two days into his quarantine. The reports said the information was provided by an employee who had been present at the meeting.
Despite Lee's immediate apology and promise to accept legal consequences, news broke out Tuesday (Oct. 6) the company had launched an internal investigation to identify the "whistleblower." An employee was reportedly forced to resign after being suspected as the person who exposed Lee's violation.
According to CNA, a woman who had been working for Kang Hsuan for 18 years noticed that her computer access was revoked and her performance bonus denied soon after the Lee incident. On Sept. 23, she was approached by her supervisor and asked to resign.
After refusing to leave the company, she started to receive threatening messages at the office. A note stating her name also appeared in the elevator boarding area with words condemning her "betrayal of the company."
The woman said she was overwhelmed by the bullying tactics and could no longer work for the company. She also filed an appeal against the company and hoped the government would step in to intervene.
Meanwhile, she claimed that she did not leak the details of Lee's misconduct to the media. She added that she refused to become the "scapegoat" for the incident.
During a question-and-answer session at the Legislative Yuan Wednesday (Oct. 7), New Taipei Labor Bureau Director Chen Jui-chia (陳瑞嘉) pointed out the malicious notes are a form of workplace discrimination and investigators are looking into it. However, he said the reason for the woman's resignation has yet to be determined and the Labor Standards Act currently does not regulate resignations resulted from bullying, according to Newtalk.
Note criticizing the woman's betrayal of the company spotted outside the elevator. (CNA photo)