This post is not a joke about partners slipping Moloko into the Kool-Aid, someone is actually spiking drinks at KPMG New Zealand. The most disturbing part, putting aside the roofies which are plenty disturbing themselves, is that this likely happened on KPMG premises. For two months in a row, “grubby little cowards” have drugged drinks at a monthly work event.
Two people at KPMG are suspected to have been victims of drink-spiking at separate work drinks, with the executive chair saying whoever is responsible is a “grubby little coward”.
Stuff has obtained a leaked email from Matt Pritchard, Executive Chair of KPMG in New Zealand, who begins by saying “this email is not something I ever expected to have to write”.
“Distressingly, last Friday at our monthly Auckland Partners’ shout, one of our people was a victim of drink-spiking.”
Thankfully that victim made it home safely.
At last month’s shout there was another drink-spiking incident though the Stuff piece doesn’t get into the specifics. Said Pritchard in his email, “While the location of the incident was not certain, it was likely to have also been at our premises.” The firm installed a security guard in response to the first incident in August and hoped between that and three supervising partners, there wouldn’t be a problem the next time around. Unfortunately that wasn’t the case.
“We expected these measures, combined with the policies we have in place to ensure we’re responsible hosts, including ensuring one drink per person per bar visit – with no drink stacking, would be effective. Unfortunately, this wasn’t enough, and we are reviewing our approach to these events,” Pritchard’s email said.
“Each and every one of us needs to feel safe in our workplace.”
The firm is now going to add extra cameras to the space where these monthly events take place and may discontinue the event completely.
“It is shocking to us a member of the KPMG family would do something so despicable and cowardly to another member of our family and, while we are currently focused on our affected team members, we want to minimise the risk of this ever happening again,” Pritchard wrote.
The person or persons responsible have not been identified, Pritchard said, and there was now an internal investigation with the priority being the victims and “finding the grubby little cowards who has done this”.
It’s been reported to police and Pritchard urged anyone with photo or video from Friday’s event to submit it for review. “I hope they are found and prosecuted,” he said to Stuff. “I’m a parent of five young children, and we treat our workplace like a family, I’m very angry, shocked and distressed someone would behave this way to your work family. It’s unthinkable.”
Drink-spiking suspected at international accounting firm’s Auckland staff events [Stuff]
I have no idea about dram shop laws in NZ, but I am surprised that KPMG or any other deep-pocketed employer would host large drinking events on-site, regardless of drink limits, monitoring, etc. Although paying the group tab at a local third-party watering hole could also create liability exposure, doing so would at least present a different narrative in court.