SINGAPORE - SingPost has refuted claims made by a postman, who was caught on video discarding returned letters and direct mail, about his abysmal working hours.

The postal service said he was responsible for delivering mail to two condominiums with about 2,300 units in total. This is in keeping with the workload and working hours of an average full-time postman.

"Our records indicate that he has not previously raised any concerns about his work environment nor health issues; this is the first time he has mentioned this," said a SingPost spokesman in a reply to the Straits Times on Monday (Feb 12).

The postman was caught discarding mail by a member of the public in a video that went viral.

In the clip, the video taker and the postman can be heard speaking in Mandarin.

After the postman is reminded that the letters are important, he denied being irresponsible. He said he has 2,600 letterboxes to cover and also wanted to see a doctor the same day because his leg hurt.

The postman, who joined the postal service on Oct 1, 2015, has since been dismissed by SingPost.

To prevent a repeat of the incident, SingPost will conduct refresher courses for its 1,200 postal delivery staff. These courses, staggered over the next two months, will cover key procedures and disciplinary measures.

SingPost said it has faced a manpower crunch due to locals spurning the job.

"We have thus turned to hiring from Malaysia and China," it said.

On top of hiring full-time postmen, SingPost has 363 Employee Neighbourhood Postmen (ENP). Largely made up of housewives and retirees, these ENPs can choose to work from four hours to nine hours a day.

SingPost has also looked into redesigning jobs to ease the postman's workload.

It has deployed three-wheeler delivery vehicles with a larger load capacity than traditional scooters, so that postmen can complete their deliveries with fewer trips.

In 2013, SingPost launched their POPStation smart parcel lockers, where customers can collect parcels.