Accounts of dead ActiveSG members used to enter pools and gyms: AGO report

SINGAPORE: People used accounts belonging to dead members to enter ActiveSG swimming pools and gyms, the Auditor-General's Office (AGO) said on Wednesday (Jul 17).

The AGO found that 18 deceased members' accounts were used for 283 admissions. These members have been dead for "as long as 4.8 years" before the dates of entry, the report said.

Of the 18 accounts, one account had been misused for 201 admissions.

ActiveSG sports facilities are located across Singapore and membership is free for Singaporeans and permanent residents. Users can book facilities, such as badminton courts, or buy passes to enter pools and gyms.

As part of its annual audit, the AGO conducted data analysis and test checks on the admission records of ActiveSG pools and gyms from Jul 1, 2022 to Jun 30, 2023. 

It found instances where ActiveSG members' passes were being misused. Under its terms, members' passes are not allowed to be transferred to other members.

But AGO found evidence that members shared their passes with other people for entry to its facilities.

Its members were also found to have used ActiveSG special passes, or per-entry passes at discounted rates, to enter pools or gyms even though they were not eligible for those benefits.

These observations indicated that controls over admissions to ActiveSG pools and gyms were inadequate, adding that such control weaknesses would result in "revenue leakage" for Sport Singapore (SportSG).

SportSG collected S$8.13 million (US$6.1 million) in admission fees for ActiveSG pools and gyms for the financial year 2022/2023.

SHARING OF PASSES

ActiveSG users can buy monthly passes for unlimited visits to pools and gyms, with concession rates for students and seniors.

AGO found 1,860 admissions into ActiveSG gyms and pools where passes belonging to 339 member accounts were shared.

For 1,834 of the admissions, members had used their passes for entry to an ActiveSG pool or gym while their accounts were concurrently being used for entry at the same or a different facility.

As for the remaining 26 admissions, the interval between the exit timing at the facility at one sports centre and the entry timing at another sports facility was "unduly short" - ranging from 3 seconds to 5 minutes - for the pass to have been used by the same member.

"The actual number of cases of members abusing their non-transferable passes was likely to be higher when the possibility of passes being shared on different days was considered," said AGO.

USE OF DISCOUNTED PASSES

In its report, AGO noted that 22,618 admissions were made by members using ActiveSG pool or gym special passes or per-entry passes purchased at discounted rates for which they were not eligible. 

Those members were not eligible because they either did not meet the age criteria or were not verified ActiveSG members. 

A majority of those admissions – 20,582 admissions – were made by 2,563 members who abused free admission benefits meant for seniors aged 65 and above, the AGO report said.

AGO said that SportSG acknowledged the limitations in its existing system, adding that it would put in place safeguards in its new MyActiveSG+ system to minimise such occurrences.

In a separate press release, SportSG said there could be tighter controls to prevent such abuse and has made further enhancements to its ActiveSG membership system.

"Our refreshed web-based membership and booking platform MyActiveSG+, which has been progressively rolled out since Jun 15, will include safeguards such as dynamic QR codes, the use of sgID, and SingPass Data Synchronisation to prevent such instances," said SportSG.

It added that it has put in place guides and checklists to ensure that its staff are clear on the processes where manual checks are required.

SportSG will also "educate the public on responsible use of the ActiveSG membership" and conduct periodic checks to ensure compliance and detect unusual admission transactions.

Where necessary, SportSG will enforce suspension or termination of the associated membership accounts.