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SINGAPORE : After the hearing of her civil suit with well-known paraplegic William Tan ended in the High Court on Wednesday, Stephanie Chee Jok Heng was back in court again on Friday.
The 51-year-old was sentenced to 13 months' jail in a district court for 10 charges of cheating.
Chee was found guilty last month of deceiving Parkway Healthcare Foundation (PHF) and Toa Payoh Senior Citizens' Health Care Centre into making payments totalling S$5,760 with false reimbursement claims.
For each charge, she could have been jailed up to seven years and fined.
The 10 offences were committed between March 2003 and March 2004 when she was the general manager of PHF and the centre.
Deputy Prosecutor Gordon Oh said that as the general manager of the charitable organisations, Chee had the trust of the directors but exploited the weak internal controls of the organisations to her advantage.
Citing the cases of the National Kidney Foundation (NKF) and Ren Ci Hospital scandals as examples of how leaders in charity organisations have abused their positions, DPP Oh said that a deterrent sentence is needed to prevent like-minded offenders from "conducting themselves in manners which have the effect of diminishing public interest in charitable organisations".
He added that Chee has not shown any remorse by not repaying the S$5,760 to the charities.
Chee's lawyer Andrew Hanam told the court that Chee, who suffers from major depression disorder, has done "considerable amount of public service, in particular to the nursing industry".
She has a doctorate in nursing and some of her awards included the Healthy Lifestyle Ambassador Award 2003 and the Healthcare Humanity Award in 2004, he said.
Mr Hanam also said that unlike the cases of NKF and Ren Ci, the amount of money that Chee cheated was "considerably smaller".
"There is no evidence that the offence had any impact on Chee's fellow employees or the public or any impact upon the public confidence in the organisations," he added.
District Judge Jasvender Kaur said in her judgement that it was a great pity that Chee has worked hard for her achievements, but "succumbed to taking advantage of the weak internal controls" of the charities.
She noted that Chee's offences were not isolated, but committed on 10 occasions.
Charitable donors who open their wallets are entitled to know that the money they donated are put to good use. And Chee's sentence must be an enhancement from the normal sentencing norms, added the judge.
She also ordered Chee to repay the S$5,760 to the charities.
Chee is appealing against the conviction and sentence.
- CNA/al
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