Social Service Office employee accused of embezzling funds meant for needy
TODAY file photo
SINGAPORE — A Social Service Office (SSO) officer has been accused of misappropriating over S$340,000 in funds meant as assistance for the needy, and using it to fund shopping sprees at luxury boutiques like Louis Vuitton and Mulberry, and pay off debt at licensed moneylenders.
Chia Kwang Hwee, 33, was on Wednesday (Aug 3) charged with 126 counts of various offences under the Penal Code, the Computer Misuse and Cybersecurity Act, and the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act.
The monies he allegedly misappropriated amounted to S$343,480, and was to have to gone to 42 needy families as financial assistance, said the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF).
The case had come to light on Aug 14, 2014, when a ComCare beneficiary told the MSF that he had not received his financial assistance payments.
On investigating, the management at Geylang Serai SSO found suspicious social assistance transactions involving Chia, a team leader at the SSO. The GIRO payments for 26 clients had been disbursed into two bank accounts, one of which was Chia’s payroll account.
The next day, the MSF filed a police report. Chia was arrested on Aug 18 and suspended the next day. It later emerged that a total of 42 clients were affected.
As team leader, Chia, who worked at a Community Development Council before joining the SSO in July 2013, helped assess applications for financial assistance before submitting them for his supervisor’s approval. He also approved assistance for cases handled by other officers in his team, and managed cases of families with multiple needs.
According to the charge sheets, between 2013 and 2014, Chia had on more than one occasion allegedly used a work laptop to access Social Assistance Network System accounts belonging to others to pilfer various sums of money totalling S$144,020.
Between 2011 and 2013, he is also said to have encashed SGD$199,460 worth of cheques, beginning with S$2,400 in 2011 and escalating to S$137,640 by 2013.
Along the way, Chia racked up bills shopping, dining and travelling. On one occasion, he spent S$2,587.50 on a meal billed to Chao Gang Cun Fine Dining. He also ran up a S$2,047.29 bill at W Hotels in Hong Kong, and spent S$2,880 at the Louis Vuitton boutique at Marina Bay Sands on one occasion.
The MSF said following the incident, it contacted all 42 affected clients to ensure they received the assistance they needed. Its internal auditor also conducted checks on all the SSOs’ payment records, and confirmed there were no other similar incidents.
It also moved to tighten its processes controls at all SSOs, implementing various recommendations made by an independent review panel. For example, it strengthened the administration of access to the IT system and put in additional checks to ensure payments to clients.
It also allocated cases such that no officer will be allowed to take charge of a particular client for more than two consecutive years.
In a Facebook post on Wednesday, Social and Family Development Minister Tan Chuan-Jin said the Ministry would not “condone or tolerate any conduct that undermines the integrity of our social assistance system and interest of our beneficiaries”.
He noted that control measures would only go so far, adding that too many would make the system “onerous and less agile”, while too few ran the risk of abuse.
“It is ultimately our values that must guide us in all our actions to serve Singapore and Singaporeans with integrity and compassion,” he said. $1,000
Chia is out on bail — set at S$100,000 — and has surrendered his passport. His case will be heard again on Sept 7.
