SINGAPORE: Mediacorp has taken disciplinary action against a cameraman who was accused of sexism even as other allegations against him surfaced.

The media company said that it conducted a thorough investigation which included interviews with several parties.



"We have concluded that the allegations are valid and have taken the necessary disciplinary action against the staff who had made the inappropriate remarks," a spokesman said in a statement on Tuesday (Oct 10).

When asked, Mediacorp declined to give further details on the disciplinary action that was taken.



“We regard disciplinary action as confidential information,” the spokesman said.

When contacted, the current affairs cameraman who made the comments refused to say what action has been taken against him.



Other colleagues have since made allegations of inappropriate conduct by the current affairs cameraman and two freelancers who work in the same unit as him, the spokesman said.

Investigations into the allegations against the freelancers are underway, and the company "will not hesitate to take the appropriate action," the spokesman said.

The original allegations were made last week by a Channel NewsAsia producer for current affairs programme Money Mind, who shared screen grabs on Facebook of a WhatsApp conversation that took place between herself and a co-worker, with the caption "Sexism in 2017".

The producer's comments were picked up on social media and appeared in articles on several websites.

In the WhatsApp conversation, the cameraman accused of sexism seemed to claim he was Australian.

When asked to verify the nationality of the staff in question, the Mediacorp spokesman said: “The staff does not have Australian nationality. We do not know why he made the reference.” The spokesman declined to reveal if the staff member is Singaporean, but Channel NewsAsia understands he is.

MEDIACORP WILL "FIGHT ANY FORM OF DISCRIMINATION"

When asked if the producer who made the allegations is still an employee, the Mediacorp spokesman said: “Prior to the incident, (she) had already tendered her resignation in September. At her request, she has left the company after serving a shortened notice period.”

The spokesman added that Mediacorp is committed to maintaining a workplace that is safe, respectful and energising for all its employees.

"We embrace the diversity of our workforce and will fight any form of discrimination or harassment that threatens our core values," she said.

"Our code of business conduct and ethics states that we do not condone any form of harassment and that employees who know of or witness inappropriate behaviours should report them. All employees of Mediacorp sign a renewed commitment to this code every year."



The code of conduct states that employees who know of or witness such inappropriate behaviour should report it to their supervisors or human resources partner.