R. Kuhendran, a former senior credit specialist at American Express Malaysia, was wrongfully dismissed after enduring years of bullying and harassment by his superior, Vijay K. Jayadevan Nair, the Industrial Court found in May 2026 [1, 2, 3]. Kuhendran joined the company in 2014 and repeatedly raised complaints about the hostile work environment from 2015 onward with no effective action taken [1, 4, 2].
The court ruled that American Express Malaysia shielded Vijay, who openly used sexually charged and derogatory language against employees in office communications, and that the company retaliated against Kuhendran by dismissing him shortly after he contacted the New York headquarters in March 2022 seeking intervention on the harassment [1, 2, 3, 5]. Judge Augustine Anthony said, “Vijay has been proven in this Court to be a superior who has shown his nature of bullying, harassing and intimidating the claimant” and added that the company was “nitpicking the claimant's every action to find fault,” making the environment unsafe [2, 5].
Kuhendran was terminated on June 23, 2022, after being issued a show-cause letter accusing him of poor performance and misconduct [1, 2, 3, 5]. The company denies allegations of harassment and says the dismissal was due to behavioural and performance issues [4].
The court ordered American Express Malaysia to pay RM153,200 in back wages and compensation to Kuhendran in lieu of reinstatement [1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8]. Kuhendran has also filed a civil lawsuit against American Express Malaysia, its New York headquarters, and several former managers alleging harassment, retaliation, fraud on the court, and conspiracy to injure him [4, 6, 7, 8].
Disputes remain over the reasons for Kuhendran’s dismissal and whether the company concealed documents related to an independent investigation ordered by its headquarters during the Industrial Court proceedings [4, 6, 7, 8].
The court ruling represents a significant judgment on workplace bullying and retaliation claims within the company. Kuhendran’s civil suit pending in the courts will next address the broader allegations of conspiracies and fraud.
