The foundation, which supports kidney dialysis patients, said the exercise was needed after it reduced fund-raising activities following a scandal over the high pay and perks given to its former chief executive.

The entire management of the NKF was sacked after it was disclosed that its chief executive was being paid S$600,000 (US$350,000) a year, plus first-class air travel and upkeep for his Mercedes car.

Staff laid off will be given a combined payout totalling S$350,000 (US$208,333), the NKF said, adding that this would result in savings of $3.2 million a year.

The NKF is now under investigation over how donors' funds were used after the disclosures surrounding its former chief executive T.T. Durai.

The scandal emerged after Durai filed a defamation suit against the Straits Times newspaper after it reported a gold-plated tap had been installed in the private bathroom of his office.

His suit backfired when he was forced in court to reveal his salary and perks. He and the entire board of the foundation stepped down along with their patron, the wife of former prime minister Goh Chok Tong.

The revelations sparked widespread public anger as an estimated two-thirds of Singaporeans have donated to the foundation, which was closely identified with the polital establishment.

Another charity, this time looking after blind Singaporeans, is now undergoing a non-criminal inquiry over its management and finances, but social workers said it was not comparable in scale to the kidney foundation case.

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