ST. PAUL (CN) - St. Jude Medical Inc. fired the managing director of its Taiwan office for resisting, and reporting, its regional director's plan to "draft false documents to cover up an illegal kickback scheme" to bribe Taiwan hospital reps and government employees to buy St. Jude products, including pacemakers, the former director claims in Ramsey County Court.
Simon Kau claims the illegal scheme was part of a plan by his new boss, Vincent Ong, who became St. Jude's regional director for Korea, Taiwan and Southeast Asia, in September 2007. Kau claims he resisted the illegal scheme, and reported it to St. Jude's in-house legal counsel. In retaliation, he says, he was suspended for four months, and then fired. He claims Ong's supervisor knew of and approved the plan, which Ong wanted to expand throughout Southeast Asia.
He is represented by Lawrence Schaefer of Minneapolis.
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