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SINGAPORE – An unemployed man who cheated $ 500 out of a government support scheme that helped people affected by the pandemic and then tried to scam another shortly after was sentenced to five months in jail on Thursday (November 19).
Chow Jia Chuan, 29, resigned from an executive position at TI firm Tabsquare in April, but later claimed to have been fired.
He applied online for the Temporary Relief Fund four days before his last day of work, falsely stating that he had lost his job due to the Covid-19 crisis.
The fund, which has since ended, assisted Singaporeans or permanent residents who needed immediate assistance with basic living expenses by giving them a payment of $ 500.
One of the requirements is that applicants must have been laid off or suffered a drop in personal income of more than 30 percent due to the pandemic.
Chow’s application was successful and he received $ 500 from the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) on April 21.
He then applied for a Covid-19 support grant on May 5, also declaring that he had lost his job due to the pandemic.
The grant supports people who lost their jobs, as well as employees who were placed on involuntary leave without pay or had their pay reduced by at least 30% for at least three consecutive months.
Singaporeans and PR can receive up to $ 800 a month for three months if they meet the criteria.
Applicants must submit supporting documents proving their eligibility, such as a letter of termination or termination of the contract.
The grant application period is projected to end on December 31.
Chow did not include any supporting documents in his application, prompting an MSF official to ask him by email to provide them.
He then forged a downsizing letter allegedly written by Siddharth Narayanan, Tabsquare’s HR business partner, and emailed it to the MSF officer on May 14.
The officer contacted Mr. Siddharth, who said he had not issued the letter.
Chow reapplied for the grant on May 21, a day after he was told that his previous application had failed.
He submitted the same forged letter with his application.
Deputy Prosecutor Jeremy Bin said this was not prosecuted, as the MSF officer had already determined that a false statement had been made in the earlier application.
A police report was filed on May 27.
Chow pleaded guilty to three counts related to deception. Two similar charges and one count of forgery were taken into consideration during sentencing.
The court heard that Chow has reimbursed the $ 500 he received from MSF.
DPP Bin urged the court to impose a six-month prison term, saying Chow had sought to exploit the pandemic and the government’s response for financial gain.
He also noted that Chow had displayed “persistent criminal behavior” even after his May 5 application was rejected by attempting to mislead MSF again in the May 21 application.
Chow’s attorney, Ms. Nicole Huang, said her client had committed the crimes out of desperation to meet his financial needs and the pressure of futile job searches.
District Judge John Ng granted Chow’s request to postpone his sentence until November 30 so that he can settle his personal affairs.
Chow could have been jailed for up to 10 years and fined for each crime.
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