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SINGAPORE – A man who used his parents to mislead the government with COVID-19 support grant funds was jailed for three months on Thursday (September 17).
Edward Goh, 43, would falsify documents to apply for the grant for his parents, although they were both ineligible.
Goh pleaded guilty to two counts of forgery for the purpose of cheating.
The COVID-19 support grant was announced as part of the Resilience Budget on March 26 of this year to assist Singaporeans or permanent residents who were financially affected by the pandemic. Among them are those who were fired or fired after January 23.
As part of the application, eligible applicants had to submit documents, including letters proving their reduction or layoff, and their pay stubs showing their last monthly salary drawn. The Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) would disburse funds to eligible applicants.
Successful applicants received three consecutive monthly payments based on the applicant’s last monthly income, subject to a limit of $ 800 per month for those who lost their jobs.
Goh’s mother, Tan Meng Lan, 67, was employed by Scotts Hwa Heng Beef Noodles as a kitchen staff at Ion Orchard Food Opera before the stall ceased operations on April 6 due to partial closure imposed since April 7. of April.
On May 4, the stall owner told Tan that she would be fired. Tan still received her full salary and contributions from CPF during the month of May. She only received a spending cut letter around June 3.
On May 5, Goh learned that her mother had been laid off and decided to help her apply for the support grant. At that time, her mother still did not have a letter of expense reduction.
Goh then decided to forge a cost reduction letter to mislead MSF into believing that Tan qualified for the grant. Using Tan’s employment letter, Goh digitally cut out his employer’s signature and pasted the image into a termination letter he had written.
He then submitted the forged termination letter, which stated that Tan lost his job on April 7 and had a last salary of $ 1,907. In reality, Tan lost her job on May 4 and her last salary was $ 1,757.50.
On May 14, Goh also attempted to forge a spending cut memorandum for his father, Goh Keng Thow, 68, despite the older Goh having quit his job.
Goh, a cook at a noodle stand, did not enjoy working at his workplace and indicated that he wanted to quit. His last day of work was March 9.
His son later forged a memorandum allegedly from his father’s employer, stating that the older Goh was no longer employed by the company. The young Goh created a false document and submitted it, stating that his father had lost his job on March 10.
Elder Goh received the first payment of $ 800 before MSF could determine that the cost reduction letter was false and suspended the additional payment. The father returned the full $ 800 on July 22.
The MSF officials who processed Tan’s application determined that the letter was false and did not pay him the sum.
On May 27, an officer filed a police report claiming that Tan had submitted an application by means of a false letter.
Undergoing the sentence imposed, Assistant Prosecutors Nicholas Lim and Jeremy Bin said Goh’s crimes were sophisticated and premeditated.
“The defendant sought to exploit the COVID-19 pandemic, and the government’s response to the pandemic, to financially benefit his parents,” the prosecution said.
“CSG payments are not ‘free money’ that can be taken on a whim and whim; it is a specific scheme to help those who really need it to overcome the short-term financial impact of losing jobs or income as a direct result of the pandemic, “they added.
For forgery for the purpose of cheating, Goh could have been jailed for up to 10 years and fined.
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