Thambirajah Tharmadurai (born 1948), which means a charitable man in Tamil, better known as T. T. Durai, is the former Chief Executive Officer of the National Kidney Foundation Singapore (NKF). He is the central figure in the National Kidney Foundation Singapore scandal and is currently on bail facing corruption charges.Durai was once highly respected as the head of an extremely successful fundraising organisation. But in July 2005, Durai resigned amid controversy following the collapse of a defamation trial which the NKF brought against Singapore Press Holdings (SPH). Various revelations emerged during the trial about spending from the charity's funds on luxury items which appeared to be for the personal use of Durai and his wife.
Lawsuit over The Straits Times article
Durai and NKF sued SPH and its senior correspondent Susan Long over an article published in The Straits Times on April 19 2004. Four days after the article appeared, the NKF, led by Durai, served a writ on the newspap