SINGAPORE: A sales director of a company took instructions from her then employer to forge documents in order to cheat a programme partner of the Workforce Singapore Agency (WSG) – a statutory board under the Ministry of Manpower.
According to court documents, Chew Chui Shien helped Haden Hee Lic-Kai cheat the Employment and Employability Institute (e2i) into disbursing S$14,400 in grants to food products company Hanguk Kitchen.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Theong Li Han told the court on Tuesday (Feb 24) that the full sum has since been “clawed back”.
“A strong stance must be taken in cheating cases where the victim is a government department or agency, so as to safeguard our national resources,” the DPP added.
On Feb 24, Chew, 53, was sentenced to five months’ jail after she pleaded guilty to two charges – cheating involving $8,400, and forgery.
Four other charges – including a second cheating charge involving another $6,000 – were considered during her sentencing.
At the time of the offences, Hee, 45, was the sole director and shareholder of Hanguk Kitchen.
His case is pending.
DPP Theong said that WSG oversees and promotes the development, competitiveness and employability of Singapore’s workforce.
The statutory board also works with partners such as e2i to administer professional conversion programmes (PCPs).
Such initiatives are career conversion programmes for professionals, managers, executives and technicians making mid-career switches to help them convert their skills and move into new jobs.
Court documents stated that the “Place-and-Train” PCP is one such initiative.
Individuals involved in it are hired by participating employers before undergoing training to take on new job roles.
Under this type of PCP, WSG provides support to employers for salary payments, the court heard.
On Oct 24, 2017, Chew submitted an application for the “Place-and-Train” PCP administered by e2i, seeking salary support.
The application stated that Hanguk Kitchen intended to hire individuals for the roles of brand manager and corporate/marketing copywriter.
The brand manager’s basic starting salary was stated as $3,000, while the corporate/marketing copywriter’s was stated as $4,000.
After three months of training for the roles, the salaries were to be increased to $3,500 and $4,500 respectively.
On Nov 24, 2017, e2i issued a letter of offer in response to this application. Hee later signed and returned a letter of acceptance linked to it, the court heard.
The DPP said that to be eligible for the grants, Hanguk Kitchen had to place and train individuals for the stated roles according to training plans attached to the letters.
In 2018, Hanguk Kitchen hired two people – one as a sales and marketing manager, and the other as a business development manager, each earning $5,000.
The sales and marketing manager, a woman, worked for the company from May 2018 to January 2019.
The DPP said: “Haden and (Chew) knew that (the woman) did not fulfil the e2i salary support grant conditions as her role did not fit the roles for which e2i had issued grant offers. (She) also did not receive any increment in her salary after undergoing training.
“Nevertheless, as Hanguk Kitchen was having cash flow issues, Haden decided to proceed with claiming the grants from e2i by representing that she had been employed as a marketing and copywriting manager.”
As part of the claims process, the company had to submit employment contracts and payslips to e2i.
The prosecutor said that between May 2018 and January 2019, Hee instigated Chew to forge an employment contract, purportedly between Hanguk Kitchen and the woman.
Among other things, this forged contract falsely stated that the sales and marketing manager was employed as a “marketing and copywriting manager”.
Chew then did as she was told, the court heard.
On Jan 25, 2019, she submitted to e21 the forged contract and four falsified payslips, purportedly linked to the “marketing and copywriting manager”.
Court documents stated that e2i then disbursed $8,400 to Hanguk Kitchen.
The Auditor-General’s Office later conducted an audit of WSG’s PCPs between April 1, 2018, and June 30, 2019.
It flagged several irregularities in the documents that Hanguk Kitchen had submitted.
WSG lodged a police report in May 2020, and Chew and Hee were charged in court in 2024.
On Feb 24, her bail was set at $30,000 and she is expected to begin serving her sentence on March 9. - The Straits Times/ANN
