About half a dozen former employees of The Sun were barred from entering the daily' office this morning when they went to collect their retrenchment benefits.

They have turned up at the office hoping to collect monies due to them after having obtained the necessary clearance from the Inland Revenue Department. Security guards barred them from entering.

They made several phone calls from the guard house to the finance and human resource department but their calls were not entertained.

It was only after calls were made to the management office that human resources manager, N Shanmugaratinam finally appeared at the gate, one of the former employees said.

He told them that he was in the dark as to when they would be paid and that he was merely following instructions. Requests to speak to senior finance personnel to clarify the matter were flatly turned down.

"We knew they (the management) cannot be trusted," said a former staff member who did not want to be named. "They have no integrity," another ex-employee said.

Payments stalled

Employees who got their retrenchment letters Jan 11 said they were told they would be paid compensation provided they get the necessary clearance from the Inland Revenue Department.

"We've done the necessary but the management isn't keeping their side of the bargain. They're stalling the payment," said another former employees.

The Sun has axed 43 staff members, mostly from the editorial department. The latest was the daily's deputy editor of the business desk, Bob Teoh who was given a termination letter at his home yesterday evening.

The paper has been besieged with problems since it ran a controversial story on a plot to kill Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad and Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi. Several key editorial personnel either resigned or were suspended following the event.

Staff members subsequently picketed and held candlelight vigils in protest of the suspension of their colleagues and the non-payment of bonuses.

The daily's management has cited financial reasons for the retrenchment exercise refuting claims it was purging the paper of National Union of Journalist members and those who supported the suspended journalists.