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SINGAPORE: Your member of parliament referred an unemployed woman for an interview, which led to her getting a job on a Woodlands Residents Committee (RC). But she used her position to misorder residents’ money and commit crimes.
Sri Hawa Safiee, 41, was sentenced on Monday (September 28) to three months and six weeks in jail for pocketing S $ 590 entrusted to him in his position as manager of RC, and for using a photocopy of an ID card. Identity card that he found at the RC Office to commit a mobile phone scam.
He pleaded guilty to one count of cheating and breach of trust by a servant. A third charge of misappropriation of an additional Singaporean $ 2,100 was considered in his capacity as CR manager.
The court heard that Sri Hawa had met with his MP to discuss his financial difficulties and his unemployment situation in 2015.
The MP, who was not named in court documents, referred Sri Hawa for an interview and was subsequently hired by the RC for Woodlands Zone 1.
As manager of the RC, Sri Hawa’s duties included managing daily operations, managing courses and activities, and managing the RC’s financial accounts. He was also entrusted with cash and checks paid by residents for courses or events organized by the CR.
In early August 2015, the RC Vice President handed S $ 500 to Sri Hawa, which residents had paid for a table reservation for the annual RC National Day dinner.
Sri Hawa was instructed to deposit the sum in the RC’s bank account and write a check for the same amount payable to the constituency.
She wrote a check as instructed, but did not deposit the cash. Instead, she spent it on her own expenses.
Similarly, he spent S $ 90, which was released to him in June 2016, to be deposited into RC’s bank account. Residents had paid the fee for a mooncake-making course.
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Sometime before July 2015, Sri Hawa found a photocopy of a woman’s identity card in RC’s office. It belonged to a cleaner who worked with Sri Hawa in the office.
Sri Hawa used the woman’s data to request a mobile phone plan, using a computer at the RC. She signed up for a package and received a phone worth S $ 998, which she used for a few months before selling it for S $ 300.
The account, in the victim’s name, racked up debts of S $ 1,335.45, and Singtel enlisted an outside company to pursue the victim for the money.
The victim later told her son what had happened and he helped her file a police report.
Internal investigations by the RC subsequently uncovered the Sri Hawa scam and the police were called.
Sri Hawa’s supervisor also discovered the discrepancies in the bank account and an internal audit was initiated. He filed a police report and Sri Hawa was fired.
Assistant District Attorney Ronald Ang asked for a sentence of four months and four weeks in jail, saying that the money from the breach of trust crime involved funds from the People’s Association.
Sri Hawa’s defense attorney, appointed under the Criminal Legal Aid Scheme, asked instead for no more than eight weeks in jail.
He said that this was not a situation where Sri Hawa had repeatedly and serially taken money. The amount of the charge proceeded was “relatively low,” at S $ 590, he said.
Sri Hawa had also cooperated “from the beginning” with the police and the RC, he said.
More than four years have passed and she “continues on the right path”, supporting her family and children, the lawyer said.
The judge said he had to consider that Sri Hawa did not make restitution and agreed with the prosecution that a deterrent message should be sent.
For criminal breach of trust by a servant, she could have been imprisoned for up to 15 years and fined. For cheating, she could have been jailed for up to 10 years and fined.
The judge allowed him to postpone the sentence until October 12.
