BooksActually co-founder Kenny Leck under fire after female ex-employees allege misconduct

SINGAPORE - For nearly 16 years, iconic independent bookstore BooksActually has been held up as one of the pillars of Singapore's literary community.

But owner Kenny Leck, 42, is stepping back from sole ownership of the store and its publishing arm, Math Paper Press, after digital news site Rice Media published an explosive expose on Saturday (Sept 25) about his past relationships with young female employees.

Writer and artist Charmaine Poh interviewed Mr Leck's ex-wife Renee Ting, a former employee who was in a relationship with him for six years, as well as other former staff, one of whom said he made romantic advances to her while married to Ms Ting.

The former employees, who were mostly in their 20s when they worked at the store, described a workplace where they were paid little and sometimes late — Ms Ting stopped drawing a salary while she was dating Mr Leck and lived in the store. They also said they worked long hours without designated breaks and feared reprisals if they spoke up.

Mr Leck told The Straits Times that the allegations are untrue and that he and his partner, whom he has been in a relationship with for the past three years, did not wish to comment.

The piece has rocked the local literary scene, with many netizens calling for accountability from one of the bastions of the book industry here.

In a statement posted on Facebook on Sunday morning, five members of the current BooksActually team — known as "book elves" - wrote: "BooksActually is an entity and ecosystem bigger than any individual. To that end, Kenny will be relinquishing sole ownership of BooksActually and Math Paper Press, and transfer collective ownership of both entities to the team."

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They added that since 2019, BooksActually has put in place welfare practices including "being paid on time, having one-hour lunch breaks and strictly regular working hours".

"We understand that in the early years of BooksActually, our past employees did not work in a safe and professional workplace environment. We recognise the efforts and sacrifices of all former employees of the bookstore, and are deeply saddened to learn more of their experience.

"We will continue to improve our staff welfare and our HR practices. More importantly, we will strengthen anti-harassment policies to ensure that present and future employees are valued and protected."

When contacted, the employees declined to be named individually and said more details on the transfer of ownership would be forthcoming.

Ms Ting was 19 in 2011 when she began working for Mr Leck and his then girlfriend Karen Wai, with whom he founded BooksActually.

After Ms Wai left, Ms Ting and Mr Leck entered into a relationship. They got married in October 2016 and divorced in early 2017.

According to the Rice article, Mr Leck had made advances to another employee, 22, referred to by the pseudonym Mel, whom he told that he would "phase Renee out" for her over the next two years.

Both Ms Ting and Mel left the store subsequently.

ST has contacted Ms Ting, who has not responded.

BooksActually, with its cats and its championing of local writers, is much beloved as an indie institution. Many mourned when it closed its brick-and-mortar store in Tiong Bahru last year, during the pandemic, to move online.

It is closely affiliated with literary groups like the charity Sing Lit Station and the movement #BuySingLit — which Mr Leck has helmed as co-chair — and has also served as the festival bookstore for the Singapore Writers Festival.

Math Paper Press has published numerous works by local authors over the years, including Singapore Literature Prize-winning poets Joshua Ip and Cyril Wong, as well as Alvin Pang's best-selling What Gives Us Our Names.

ST contacted 16 local writers, 13 of whom have been published by Math Paper Press. Most did not respond or declined to comment on record if they had known about the alleged behaviour or would continue to support BooksActually.

Cartoonist Sonny Liew recalled how in 2018, he had questioned on Facebook the lack of transparency around BooksActually's fund-raising efforts to buy its own shophouse space.

"The response from some was that they felt BooksActually faced a lot of challenges, and as such they were okay with continuing to support and donate, however the money ended being used," Liew, 47, who is not a Math Paper Press author, told ST.

"I'd thought there was some discrepancy there between what was the usual call for accountability and transparency in financial matters in other contexts, and the willingness to let things slide in the case of BooksActually.

"In some sense that was fine — everyone is entitled to their own preferences — but I did wonder about the extent to which some of this might be tied to the network of mutual or even vested interests BooksActually had built around itself, and to the power of the narrative that had been projected — of David vs Goliath — as the Rice piece mentions."

Poet Gwee Li Sui, 51, who is also not a Math Paper Press author, called for support for the former employees quoted in the Rice article. "I think it is important to listen objectively to what these women are saying and to protect them from backlash," he told ST.

Many patrons are already distancing themselves from a bookstore they once saw as a haven.

Marketing professional Joshua Poh, 30, said he was shocked and disappointed and would no longer be buying from BooksActually nor partnering with it on book reviews until Mr Leck is held accountable.

"As book buyers, we vote with our wallets," he said.

"However, it's crucial to separate the bookshop from the authors it works with and I will be looking out for other ways to support local authors and publishers."