Ezra Anandaraj was an Assistant Manager of Credit Control in HartaPadu Sdn Bhd. Last month, a complaint was filed by his manager alleging that Ezra had falsified certain documents in order to facilitate payment from a customer. HR commenced an investigation and decided that there are enough evidence to start a case against Ezra. Subsequently, Ezra was suspended without pay for three weeks. The company then began the process of holding a domestic inquiry. Zainal, the Senior Manager of Finance was appointed as Chairman of the Board of Inquiry. Zainal was Ezra's former manager before Zainal was promoted and transferred to Finance. Four other panel members were also appointed including Vimala, a senior executive in the Training Department.
One day before the scheduled date for the domestic inquiry, Zainal went to meet the HR Manager to get information about the case. Zainal believed the information that he got would help him get a clearer picture of the case and hopefully settle the matter quickly.
On the day scheduled for the inquiry, while travelling to the office to attend the hearing, Ezra had an accident and suffered injuries that required him to seek treatment at the hospital. The doctor granted him medical leave for three days. Ezra called the company to inform them about his inability to attend the domestic inquiry but was surprised to learn that the company had decided to continue with the inquiry in his absence. After the domestic inquiry was conducted, Ezra was found guilty by the Board. The Board made a recommendation to the management that the company dismiss Ezra. He received the termination letter from the company the following day. Ezra was not satisfied with how the whole disciplinary process was carried out and wanted to sue his employer. But before he proceeds,(BA WB4014) he wishes to get clarification on certain issues. In this context, advise Ezra on the following matters:
a. Describe TWO (2) reasons why the company suspended him while they were still investigating the misconduct.