Skip to main content
Best News Website or Mobile Service
WAN-IFRA Digital Media Awards Worldwide 2022
Best News Website or Mobile Service
Digital Media Awards Worldwide 2022
Hamburger Menu

Advertisement

Advertisement

Singapore

Jail for man who cheated to get professional conversion programme grants

Jail for man who cheated to get professional conversion programme grants

File photo of a gavel. (Photo: CNA/Jeremy Long)

SINGAPORE: A 33-year-old man was on Wednesday (Nov 9) sentenced to 13 weeks' jail for cheating to get grants under Workforce Singapore's professional conversion programmes (PCP).

The programmes offer grant pay-outs, including course fee subsidies and salary support based on the employee's salary, to help mid-career professionals, managers, executives and technicians undergo skills conversion and move into new careers.

At the time of his first offence in December 2017, Xu Shaowen was a general manager of 7W Consultancy.

The Singaporean conspired with a director of the firm by submitting a fraudulent PCP funding application to the Singapore National Employers Federation (SNEF), which administers the programmes.

Xu falsely declared in his application form that his gross monthly salary from 7W Consultancy was S$5,800, deceiving SNEF into disbursing PCP funding amounting to S$13,995.

In April 2018, he submitted another fraudulent application to SNEF for an information technology manager at 7W Consultancy.

However, he falsely declared in the form that the employee was a deputy human resource manager and that his gross monthly salary was S$5,600. He also falsified an employment contract to support the PCP application.

But no pay-out was disbursed as the application was subsequently withdrawn.

Xu was convicted on one count of abetment by conspiracy to cheat and one count of falsification of accounts. Three other charges were taken into consideration.

He has since made full restitution to WSG.

"The police treat abuse of government grants seriously and will not hesitate to take action against such offenders. Offenders will be dealt with severely in accordance with the law," the police said. 

The PCP was rebranded as the Career Conversion Programmes in 2021.

Source: CNA/sn(gr)

Advertisement

Also worth reading

Advertisement