Singapore
By Lydia Lam 06 Jul 2021 05:57PM (Updated: 06 Jul 2021 06:00PM )
SINGAPORE: Over several months in 2016, the director and two principals of a chain of childcare centres conspired to cheat the Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA) into disbursing fraudulent subsidies for children who did not qualify for them or who were not enrolled in their schools.
Former director and shareholder of Faith Educare childcare centres Josephine Tan Poh Choo, 53, was fined S$10,500 for her role in the crimes on Tuesday (Jul 6).
The prosecution did not seek a jail term due to several factors including Tan's full restitution, remorse and her debilitating medical conditions after suffering a severe stroke.
Tan, who was pushed into court in a wheelchair, pleaded guilty to three charges of abetment by conspiracy to cheat. Another five charges were taken into consideration.
The court heard that Tan helmed six of the now-defunct Faith Educare childcare centres: In Buangkok, Rivervale, Sengkang, Compassvale, Punggol and Jurong.
She worked with her two co-accused: Fatimah Bivee Mohd Shariff, the principal of the Compassvale branch from 2016 to 2017 and the Rivervale branch from 2017 to 2018; and Arulanandam Rajeswary, who was the principal of several centres and submitted all the childcare subsidy claims for the chain.
The victim listed in court documents is ECDA, the regulatory and developmental agency for the early childhood sector in Singapore, an autonomous agency overseen by the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Social and Family Development.
HOW THE SUBSIDIES WORK
As Faith Educare centres were ECDA-licensed, parents enrolling their children there could apply for basic childcare subsidies if they were Singaporean citizens.
The basic subsidy was S$300 a month per child for working parents and S$150 per month for non-working parents, and the subsidies were disbursed directly by ECDA each month.
To apply for the subsidies, parents had to submit two forms to the childcare centres. ECDA's system automatically approves the normal subsidy cases and disburses the subsidy to the childcare centres at the end of each month.
There were other eligibility requirements for the subsidies, including for a child to attend the centre at least one day a month.
Each Faith Educare centre branch was managed by a principal who would handle all ECDA forms and update Tan on the centre's day-to-day operations.
THE SCHEME
Sometime between 2015 and January 2016, Tan instructed Rajeswary to submit basic childcare subsidy claims in ECDA's system for children who did not attend the centre.
She asked Rajeswary to use information previously obtained from ECDA forms even though the children in those forms were yet to attend classes or did not end up doing so.
Similar instructions were made to Fatimah, who would sign "on behalf" of the children's parents in the sign-in and sign-out records. She would also ensure that the attendance book reflected that the child was there in the centre when they were not.
Neither Rajeswary nor Fatimah received direct benefits from the scheme and they acted under Tan's instructions, said Deputy Public Prosecutor Chong Kee En.
Under the conspiracy, a one-year-old baby was registered as attending the Sengkang branch in April 2016 and the Compassvale branch between May and June 2016, even though he was not of the eligible age of at least 18 months.
ECDA disbursed S$900 in subsidies for this child to the Faith Educare centres. The agency was also tricked into giving S$1,200 in subsidies to the Punggol branch for a two-year-old boy who had not started attending childcare.
ECDA caught wind of the crimes and lodged a police report in August 2016.
In total, ECDA was cheated into giving out S$4,800 worth of subsidies. Tan repaid the entire sum. She suffered a severe hemiplegic stroke in May 2018 and her mobility is permanently impaired, the court heard.
She cannot walk independently and will require physical assistance for the rest of her life. She sold the childcare centres in December 2019. Several months later in June 2020, she was diagnosed with likely vascular dementia from the stroke, leading to memory impairment.
PROSECUTOR DID NOT ASK FOR JAIL
Deputy Public Prosecutor Chong Kee En said jail terms are generally meted out for fraud offences where government-related agencies are implicated.
However, he said he recognised the mitigating factors, including Tan's full restitution made before she was even charged and her ceasing of the conspiracy before the police interviewed her.
She has also cooperated fully and "most significantly" has serious health conditions, said Mr Chong.
He asked for a total fine of S$10,500.
Tan's lawyer Jonathan Cho thanked the prosecution for asking for such a sentence and said it would be "more than sufficient punishment". He cited a previous case where a judge said the process of prosecution in itself can sometimes be the punishment, such as appearing in court and receiving publicity in local news.
The judge agreed and gave the fine asked for. Fatimah was fined S$3,000 earlier this month for her role, while Rajeswary's case is pending.
For abetment by conspiracy to cheat ECDA into disbursing grants, Tan could have been jailed up to three years, fined, or both per charge.
Source: CNA/ll(ta)
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Ex-director of Faith Educare childcare centres fined for conspiring to cheat ECDA of subsidies
Screengrab from Google Street View of Faith Educare Centre's Jurong West branch.By Lydia Lam 06 Jul 2021 05:57PM (Updated: 06 Jul 2021 06:00PM )
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SINGAPORE: Over several months in 2016, the director and two principals of a chain of childcare centres conspired to cheat the Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA) into disbursing fraudulent subsidies for children who did not qualify for them or who were not enrolled in their schools.
Former director and shareholder of Faith Educare childcare centres Josephine Tan Poh Choo, 53, was fined S$10,500 for her role in the crimes on Tuesday (Jul 6).
The prosecution did not seek a jail term due to several factors including Tan's full restitution, remorse and her debilitating medical conditions after suffering a severe stroke.
Tan, who was pushed into court in a wheelchair, pleaded guilty to three charges of abetment by conspiracy to cheat. Another five charges were taken into consideration.
The court heard that Tan helmed six of the now-defunct Faith Educare childcare centres: In Buangkok, Rivervale, Sengkang, Compassvale, Punggol and Jurong.
She worked with her two co-accused: Fatimah Bivee Mohd Shariff, the principal of the Compassvale branch from 2016 to 2017 and the Rivervale branch from 2017 to 2018; and Arulanandam Rajeswary, who was the principal of several centres and submitted all the childcare subsidy claims for the chain.
The victim listed in court documents is ECDA, the regulatory and developmental agency for the early childhood sector in Singapore, an autonomous agency overseen by the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Social and Family Development.
HOW THE SUBSIDIES WORK
As Faith Educare centres were ECDA-licensed, parents enrolling their children there could apply for basic childcare subsidies if they were Singaporean citizens.
The basic subsidy was S$300 a month per child for working parents and S$150 per month for non-working parents, and the subsidies were disbursed directly by ECDA each month.
To apply for the subsidies, parents had to submit two forms to the childcare centres. ECDA's system automatically approves the normal subsidy cases and disburses the subsidy to the childcare centres at the end of each month.
There were other eligibility requirements for the subsidies, including for a child to attend the centre at least one day a month.
Each Faith Educare centre branch was managed by a principal who would handle all ECDA forms and update Tan on the centre's day-to-day operations.
THE SCHEME
Sometime between 2015 and January 2016, Tan instructed Rajeswary to submit basic childcare subsidy claims in ECDA's system for children who did not attend the centre.
She asked Rajeswary to use information previously obtained from ECDA forms even though the children in those forms were yet to attend classes or did not end up doing so.
Similar instructions were made to Fatimah, who would sign "on behalf" of the children's parents in the sign-in and sign-out records. She would also ensure that the attendance book reflected that the child was there in the centre when they were not.
Neither Rajeswary nor Fatimah received direct benefits from the scheme and they acted under Tan's instructions, said Deputy Public Prosecutor Chong Kee En.
Under the conspiracy, a one-year-old baby was registered as attending the Sengkang branch in April 2016 and the Compassvale branch between May and June 2016, even though he was not of the eligible age of at least 18 months.
ECDA disbursed S$900 in subsidies for this child to the Faith Educare centres. The agency was also tricked into giving S$1,200 in subsidies to the Punggol branch for a two-year-old boy who had not started attending childcare.
ECDA caught wind of the crimes and lodged a police report in August 2016.
In total, ECDA was cheated into giving out S$4,800 worth of subsidies. Tan repaid the entire sum. She suffered a severe hemiplegic stroke in May 2018 and her mobility is permanently impaired, the court heard.
She cannot walk independently and will require physical assistance for the rest of her life. She sold the childcare centres in December 2019. Several months later in June 2020, she was diagnosed with likely vascular dementia from the stroke, leading to memory impairment.
PROSECUTOR DID NOT ASK FOR JAIL
Deputy Public Prosecutor Chong Kee En said jail terms are generally meted out for fraud offences where government-related agencies are implicated.
However, he said he recognised the mitigating factors, including Tan's full restitution made before she was even charged and her ceasing of the conspiracy before the police interviewed her.
She has also cooperated fully and "most significantly" has serious health conditions, said Mr Chong.
He asked for a total fine of S$10,500.
Tan's lawyer Jonathan Cho thanked the prosecution for asking for such a sentence and said it would be "more than sufficient punishment". He cited a previous case where a judge said the process of prosecution in itself can sometimes be the punishment, such as appearing in court and receiving publicity in local news.
The judge agreed and gave the fine asked for. Fatimah was fined S$3,000 earlier this month for her role, while Rajeswary's case is pending.
For abetment by conspiracy to cheat ECDA into disbursing grants, Tan could have been jailed up to three years, fined, or both per charge.
Source: CNA/ll(ta)
Continue reading...