How the tax payers' monies are mis-spent

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Woman jailed 27 months for defrauding former Workforce Development Agency​

Elaine Lee

AUG 22, 2023

SINGAPORE - A woman was sentenced to 27 months’ jail on Friday for defrauding the former Workforce Development Agency (WDA) in relation to a funding scheme.
Liu Mei Ying, who was a sole director and shareholder of two training providers – Derma Floral Beauty Academy and Derma Floral Beauty – was on July 3 convicted of 27 fraud-related charges after a trial, the police said on Saturday.
She was also the sole proprietor of Beaux Ex Bellus Trading. The companies are collectively known as Derma Floral Group.
Liu has appealed against the conviction and sentence.
Under WDA’s funding scheme, companies and registered businesses could apply online for training grants to fund their employees’ participation in courses run by approved training providers. The scheme was aimed at encouraging employers to upgrade their employees’ skills by helping to defray training costs.
For WDA to disburse any grant, a participant must fulfil 75 per cent of the required course attendance. For the agency to disburse the absentee payroll grant, the participant must be an employee of the applicant company for the entire course duration. An absentee payroll grant helps an employer defray the manpower cost incurred when it sends an employee for training.
Between December 2011 and July 2013, Liu instigated her employee, Lau Pin Lin, to carry out a series of fraudulent acts in relation to the scheme.

These included deceiving WDA into disbursing $62,983.77 in training grants to Derma Floral Group and two companies that sent their employees for training at Liu’s company. False information about trainees from Liu’s company was submitted to WDA online.
Lau made eight online submissions to WDA, falsely stating that six trainees of eight courses conducted by Derma Floral Group had attended at least 75 per cent of their respective course hours for these eight courses.
Liu instigated Lau to conceal the fraud by creating sham documents and submitting some of them to WDA during its audit of the training grants disbursed to Derma Floral Group.
Liu also instigated Lau to cheat WDA into consenting to Derma Floral Beauty Academy and Derma Floral Beauty retaining the training grants earlier disbursed to them by submitting eight sets of attendance records to WDA falsely showing that two trainees had attended at least 75 per cent of two courses.
Lau was convicted on Aug 23, 2019, after pleading guilty to her offences in this series of fraud. On Sept 13, 2019, she was sentenced to 12 weeks in jail.
WDA was reconstituted in 2016 into two statutory boards, Workforce Singapore and SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG).

 

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Tuition centre owner jailed over bogus claims for $126k in grants under government assistance scheme​

Shaffiq Alkhatib
Court Correspondent

OCT 4, 2023

SINGAPORE – The owner of a tuition centre created seven phantom trainees and submitted 63 fraudulent claims to obtain grants totalling $126,749 under a government initiative aimed at helping people improve their employability during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Gerard Lim Jian Rong, 36, was sentenced to 22 months’ jail on Tuesday after he pleaded guilty to four counts of cheating and a forgery charge. Six other charges were taken into consideration during sentencing.
Lim abused the SGUnited Traineeships Programme (SGUT), which the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) and the Workforce Singapore agency introduced in March 2020 to help trainees develop industry-relevant skills amid the weaker hiring climate during the pandemic.
The prosecutor said trainees under the programme were usually fresh graduates, and Success.Nat Tutorial Centre, which Lim owns, was a host organisation under the initiative.
Lim duped the Singapore Business Federation (SBF), which was managing and administering the programme, into disbursing the grants to the centre after submitting the details of people who were not trainees at the centre.
At the time, he was the principal of Success.Nat and its key decision-maker, and was also responsible for its day-to-day operations, which Deputy Public Prosecutor Edwin Soh said included planning classes and hiring tutors.
As a host organisation, the firm would administer programmes and pay trainees a monthly allowance.

The DPP told the court that a host organisation could obtain a training grant of 80 per cent of the monthly training allowance paid to its trainees.
This grant would be disbursed by SBF, but the monies for these grants were public funds from MOM’s budget.
Among other things, the host organisation must send supporting documents such as payment slips to SBF every month to claim the training allowance grants.


SBF would then assess and approve the claims before disbursing the monies.
Lim hatched a plan to dupe SBF into disbursing training allowance grants to Success.Nat.

He placed job advertisements for the role of teaching and curriculum executive on several portals, with the hashtag “#SGUnited Traineeships”.
Those who were interested in applying for this role would contact Lim and e-mail him their resumes, NRIC details and academic transcripts.
The DPP said: “The accused would not respond... as he had no intention of onboarding them on traineeships with Success.Nat.
“Instead, the accused used their details to fill up the ‘Appointed Trainee under SGUT’ form and submit the same to SBF.”
Lim would prepare the required documents such as the training agreements, which he submitted to SBF to give the impression that these individuals purportedly had traineeships with Success.Nat from October 2020 to June 2021.
Lim would also indicate to SBF that he was paying the purported trainees the maximum training allowance of $2,500 a month.
DPP Soh told the court: “In reality, the accused submitted the documents... without the knowledge and consent of the purported trainees. The accused never onboarded any of the purported trainees and did not pay them any training allowances.”

He also forged the signatures of purported trainees on seven training agreements.
Court documents did not disclose how the offences came to light, but Lim was charged in court in March 2023.
He made full restitution on Feb 18, 2022.

 

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No concerns detected during weekly check-ins with girl who was sexually abused for nearly 3 months: MSF​

The girl was taken in by a man after she was traumatised by her mother’s death and father’s sexual abuse. But the man sexually assaulted her almost every day for close to three months.

Photo illustration of a child in distress. (File photo: CNA/Jeremy Long)

Michael Yong​

04 Dec 2023

Warning: This story contains references to suicide.
SINGAPORE: Authorities did not detect “sexual abuse concerns” during weekly sessions with a girl who was sexually assaulted almost every day for about three months by a man who wanted to adopt her.
In response to queries from CNA, the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) said on Monday (Dec 4) that the girl did not “disclose the abuse to them” until she told a school teacher.
Last Tuesday, the 39-year-old man was sentenced to 10 years’ jail and nine strokes of the cane for his crimes.
He pleaded guilty to four counts of exploitative sexual penetration of a minor who is 16 or 17, with another nine charges taken into consideration.
The girl was under the care of MSF and in the process of being adopted when she moved in to stay with the man and his wife full-time.
She was sexually assaulted almost every day during her stay from September 2020 to November 2020, the court heard.
Questions were raised after the court case about why the abuse went undetected for nearly three months. The girl also started to engage in self-harm during the period of abuse.
The ministry told CNA that the girl had been receiving support from a team of professionals, which included psychologists and case workers from a treatment centre, a psychiatrist and a psychologist from the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) and a Child Protection Officer.
During her stay with the couple, check-ins and sessions were conducted every week on average by at least one of the professionals, where the girl's well-being, safety and progress were monitored.
The couple also had regular sessions with the professionals and were "observed to be capable of providing supportive care" for her.
"During this period, the professionals did not detect sexual abuse concerns, nor did the young person disclose the abuse to them until she told her school teacher in Nov 2020," said MSF.
"Although the young person had some signs of self-harm, that would not have indicated that she was being sexually abused, as due to her past trauma history, the young person had ongoing self-harm behaviour before she was under the care of the couple."

THE CASE​

The girl, who is now 19 years old, was 13 when her mother took her own life in front of her in 2017.
She suffered from adjustment disorder with depressed mood after, but the girl’s father did not let her or her siblings mourn their mother’s death.
The girl was sexually abused by her father in January 2018, several months after her mother died. She overdosed on medication and was admitted to the Institute of Mental Health, where she was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.
She was removed from her father’s care about two months later and placed in the care of a family friend. The teenager stopped engaging in self-harm, but this resumed in June 2018 after the suicide of a close friend.
In September 2018, MSF placed her in a treatment centre aimed at helping girls who have suffered trauma or abuse.
The man, who cannot be named to protect the identity of the victim, first met the girl that month when he ran a programme at the treatment centre. He was a manager at a company which conducts camps for children.
He and his wife later agreed to adopt the girl, and they were told of the girl’s traumatic past and her mental health issues.
In December 2019, the victim started home leave with the couple and stayed overnight at their home. She sometimes slept on the bed with the couple when she had trouble sleeping.
Between January 2020 and March 2020, her mental health deteriorated and she was moved back to the treatment centre. The couple visited her regularly as they did not want her to feel abandoned.
After the COVID-19 “circuit breaker” in April and May 2020, her home leave with the couple resumed – mostly for two to three days at a time – from June 2020 to August 2020.
The sexual abuse started in September that year, with the man asking her to remove her clothes to participate in an “activity” using a mirror before he molested her.
He also molested her on multiple occasions in the first half of that month.
Despite the abuse, she started extended home leave with the couple and began staying at their home full-time on Sep 15, 2020.
The man began sexually assaulting the girl on an almost daily basis. The girl would experience panic attacks during the assaults.
On Oct 4, 2020, the man and his wife were formally appointed “kith caregivers” by MSF while the adoption process was ongoing.
Kith caregivers are non-familial adults known to a child through family or community connections, and they are not registered as foster parents, MSF said.
Over the next few months, he continued to sexually assault the girl nearly every day until the middle of November. The crimes were only discovered after the girl told a teacher on Nov 30, 2020.
The girl is currently staying with her relatives. She is receiving support from a Family Service Centre social worker and a hospital psychologist, said MSF.

PHASED CONTACTS​

During her stay at the treatment centre, she had regular check-ins and therapy sessions with the team of professionals.
Before she started going over to stay at the couple’s home, there were “phased contacts” between the couple and her.
These ranged from supervised visits at the treatment centre, to outings, before progressing to home leave and full-time care.
“For this case, there were regular therapy sessions, check-ins and home visits by professionals both prior to and during the young person’s home leave, as well as during her stay with the couple daily from Sep 15, 2020, onwards,” said the ministry.
But the abuse was not detected by the professionals.
MSF said that child abuse is “often hard to detect, particularly when a caregiver actively hides it”.
“This case highlights how detection can be difficult even with close and constant support provided by professionals,” said the ministry.
“It also shows the critical role of having trusted individuals in one’s life. In this case, if not for the teacher whom the young person trusted and confided in, the abuse might have remained hidden much longer.”
When asked why the couple were allowed to take her in, MSF said the man and his wife had “no prior criminal record and adverse history”.
They were volunteers at the treatment centre where the girl was staying.
“No risk factors emerged during the assessment of the couple’s suitability as kith caregivers for the young person in question,” said MSF.
“Trained professionals assessed them as caring and capable of supporting her needs.”
The couple did not follow through with the adoption process, said MSF.

 

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Man who sexually abused teen girl he wanted to adopt had no criminal record: MSF​

Wong Shiying

Dec 4, 2023

SINGAPORE – The man who sexually abused a teenage girl whom he wanted to adopt had no criminal record and adverse history, and professionals did not detect any abuse during regular check-ins with the offender, his wife and the victim.
The Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) on Dec 4 said the couple were volunteers at the therapeutic group home where the girl was residing.
The teenager, who was under the care of MSF, had moved in with the home after her father subjected her to sexual abuse by touching her inappropriately in January 2018.
The girl, who was 16 when she moved in with the couple, was in the process of being adopted when she was sexually assaulted by the man who wanted to take her in.
The 39-year-old man was on Nov 28 sentenced to 10 years’ jail and nine strokes of the cane after pleading guilty to four counts of exploitative sexual penetration of a minor who is 16 or 17.
Another nine charges were taken into consideration for his sentencing.
MSF said there were phased contacts between the couple and the victim before the girl started living with the man and his wife in their home.

She met them during supervised visitations at the therapeutic group home, as well as at outings, before it progressed to home leave and full-time care.
“From December 2019 to early April 2020 before circuit breaker, she was on home leave with the couple that started from a day to a few days a week.
“Her home leave was suspended during circuit breaker from April to May 2020 and resumed gradually from June 2020. From Sept 15, 2020, she stayed with the couple daily,” the ministry added.

Between September and mid-November 2020, the man subjected her to multiple forms of sexual penetration, including sodomy. The acts took place almost daily.
MSF said despite weekly check-ins with professionals to monitor the girl’s well-being, safety and progress, as well as the couple’s regular sessions with professionals to assess their ability to care for her, no sexual abuse concerns were detected.
The professionals included psychologists and case workers from the therapeutic group home, a psychiatrist and a psychologist from the Institute of Mental Health, and a child protection officer.
MSF said child abuse is often hard to detect, particularly when a caregiver actively hides it.
The ministry added: “This case highlights how detection can be difficult even with close and constant support provided by professionals.
“It also shows the critical role of having trusted individuals in one’s life. In this case, if not for the teacher the young person trusted and confided in, the abuse might have remained hidden for much longer.”

The man who abused her was a manager at a youth leadership development firm at the time and the father of two young boys. He cannot be named due to a gag order to protect the victim’s identity.
The girl was 13 in June 2017 when her mother killed herself in front of her. As a result, she suffered from adjustment disorder with depressed mood.
In January 2018, her father subjected her to sexual abuse by touching her inappropriately. She was removed from her father’s care in March 2018 and MSF placed her in the care of a family friend.
In June 2018, one of her close friends committed suicide and the girl later engaged in self-harm by repeatedly using a blade to cut her limbs.
Assessed to be a suicide risk, she was placed in a centre designed to help girls who suffered trauma or abuse reintegrate into society.
The company that the offender was working in was running a camp for girls in June 2019. This was where he met the victim, who was a camp participant.
During the camp, she told the offender that she was hoping for foster care or adoption, as she could not return to her biological family.
The man’s wife agreed with his decision to adopt the girl. His family was later assessed by MSF to be suitable caregivers.
In September 2020, she was at the man’s home when he suggested they take part in an activity. He told her to stand topless before a mirror and describe what she saw while he stood blindfolded nearby.
She did not know what the activity was for, but assumed it might be some form of therapy for her.
Soon after, he started to rub her chest, claiming it would help her body release some “love chemicals”.
This happened on multiple occasions, and she allowed him to do so as she trusted the man and felt close to him.

Between September and November 2020, he also sexually penetrated her, made her perform sex acts on him and would sometimes use his mobile phone to take photographs and videos of the acts.
The court heard that the girl felt guilty after the sexual acts and started harming herself again. She also felt that she was “trash and worthless”.
She told a teacher about her ordeal, who then alerted the police.
MSF said in its reply that all volunteers in MSF-funded programmes involving contact with clients undergo background reference checks and suitability assessments by social service agencies.
“No risk factors emerged during the assessment of the couple’s suitability as kith caregivers for the girl. Trained professionals assessed them as caring and capable of supporting her needs,” the ministry added.
Kith caregivers are non-familial adults known to the child through family or community connections, and they are not registered as foster parents.
MSF said the girl did not disclose the abuse to professionals supporting her until she told her school teacher in November 2020.
MSF added: “Although the young person had some signs of self-harm, that would not have indicated that she was being sexually abused, as due to her past trauma history, she had ongoing self-harm behaviour before she was under the care of the couple.”
The teen is now staying with her relatives and receiving support from a family service centre social worker and a hospital psychologist.

 

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S’pore won’t claim from climate fund, but will help others access it: Grace Fu​

Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu said Singapore will not claim from the fund despite investing heavily in coastal protection measures. PHOTO: REUTERS

Cheryl Tan

DEC 12, 2023

DUBAI – Singapore will not be claiming from a fund that compensates countries for the loss and damage that they face arising from climate change.
Instead, it will support fellow countries from the Alliance of Small Island States (Aosis) to help them receive money from the fund, Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu said on Dec 11.
Speaking to reporters outside the Singapore Pavilion at the United Nations COP28 climate talks, Ms Fu said the Republic will not claim from the fund despite investing heavily in coastal protection measures. Singapore has estimated that at least $100 billion will be needed in the long term to fight against rising sea levels.
“What we really want to see is help (given) to our fellow islanders, our brothers and sisters in Aosis, to help (them) tap these funds, as many face difficulties doing so due to a lack of technical capacity,” she added.
At least US$790 million (S$1.06 billion) has been pledged to the historic loss and damage fund, which sees developed countries that have contributed largely to climate change paying developing countries for the climate-induced damages they are experiencing.
The fund will be hosted through the World Bank for the first four years.
Singapore is part of the Aosis negotiating bloc, which includes many small island states such as the Pacific island nations, which have already suffered from climate change acutely through the loss of land and property damage due to sea-level rise. Some communities have also been forced to relocate.

To receive money from the fund, countries must submit plans and feasibility studies. The lack of technical capability to provide such information is often what is holding them back from submission, Ms Fu said.
Singapore could help countries that are developing their national adaptation plan, which needs details on how they deal with food and water security.
“So, I think Singapore plays a useful role in getting capability building, technical assistance, working with other countries that have the ability to do so, the resources to do so, to help our fellow island states to get better access (to the fund) to help them recover faster from disaster,” Ms Fu added.

The World Bank being the host of the fund was a sticking point for developing countries.
They were worried that it was not truly an independent fund as it is based in the United States, and the administrative processes required of them would hence make it difficult to access the money.
In February, Ms Fu said in Parliament that Singapore, classified as a developing country in international negotiations, is an eligible recipient of the loss and damage fund.
She added at the time that Singapore had not decided if it would contribute to the fund, or claim from it, a position that drew the ire of youth climate groups here.
The groups felt it would be unjust for the Republic to take from the fund as it could deprive other climate-wrought countries from getting the compensation that they needed.
Asked by The Straits Times at COP28 on whether Singapore will be contributing to other sources of finance, such as adaptation or climate finance in general, Ms Fu said: “We see our role really as galvanising finance...
“The idea is that from the little resources that we have in Singapore, how (we) can lever up... like a fulcrum. From $1 that we are putting on the table, we are able to get $7, $8, $9 of funding.
“We have put in some money to start that funding arrangement, and we are very optimistic that the amount that we have on blended finance, the amount that we put into the seed companies, for example, will see scaling effects in the years to come.”
The Financing Asia’s Transition Partnership’s US$5 billion blended finance initiative is meant to channel finance to projects that would otherwise not be profitable, such as those in clean energy, nature-based solutions, and waste and water management.
This initiative involves Singapore’s central bank and other partners like the International Finance Corporation and Temasek.
Ms Fu and Norway’s Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide are facilitating negotiations on mitigation at COP28, which is a key prong of the Paris Agreement as it entails reducing greenhouse gas emissions to limit global warming to 1.5 deg C.

When asked if countries are going to agree on a term like the “phase-out” of fossil fuels, or whether there might be other options that come up later on, she said: “The issue about energy transition is a significant one.
“The presidency has really made this the core issue. What we have found over the last few days is that there’s a great convergence over the need to move to 1.5 deg C and for (greater climate) ambition.”
However, countries are divided on how to get there, especially as they all have many concerns and expectations, she added.
One of the hotly debated points of COP28 is the language around the “phase-out” of fossil fuels, and whether it will be a complete phase-out, or only the phase-out of “unabated” fossil fuels. Abated fossil fuels refer to the use of carbon capture technologies to ensure emissions are less intensive.
Ms Fu said: “So we will have to work through the language to find possible landing zones... I think the intention is to have a good energy transition message, and I think that is still a work in progress.”
As for Singapore’s position on fossil fuels, she said that Singapore is still reliant on these, given the limited natural energy and renewable energy sources here. Singapore is powered by around 95 per cent natural gas.
“We’re also talking about the possibility of importing renewable energy from the region, which is really going out of our comfort zone, if you think about issues with energy security, but we felt that it is an important part for us to decarbonise our energy sector,” she added.
Singapore is also looking at new technologies like green hydrogen, which is not cost-effective at the moment but crucial for the Republic to explore to play its role in energy decarbonisation.
“We are also accountable to our own people for the economic livelihoods... so we have to strike a balance in accelerating our decarbonisation journey and also making sure that the transition is an orderly, reasonable one that gives us affordable and accessible energy,” Ms Fu added.

 

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$40 million spent

LTA shelves plan to replace older public transport payment cards with SimplyGo by June 1​

The authorities will spend an extra $40 million to allow commuters to continue using ez-link and Nets FlashPay cards. ST PHOTO: GAVIN FOO
Lee Nian Tjoe and Kok Yufeng

Jan 22, 20234

SINGAPORE - Holders of older ez-link cards that are not on SimplyGo, an account-based ticketing platform, will no longer have to update their cards by June 1 to pay for public transport.
Nets FlashPay cards will also continue being accepted for adult fare payments, and there will be no need to exchange them for a Nets Prepaid card to pay for bus and train rides by June 1.
The authorities said on Jan 22 that they are pulling the plug on the planned transition after public backlash.
Announcing the change in a Facebook post on Jan 22, Transport Minister Chee Hong Tat said the authorities will spend an extra $40 million to allow commuters to continue using ez-link and Nets FlashPay cards, which use a card-based ticketing system that stores transaction data on the cards.
This is unlike SimplyGo, which processes fare payments at the back end.
“We have decided to extend the use of the current (card-based ticketing system) for adult commuters, and not to sunset the system in 2024 as originally planned,” Mr Chee wrote.
The decision, he added, was made after considering concerns among commuters since the Land Transport Authority’s (LTA) announcement on Jan 9 that they would not be able to see fare deductions and card balances at fare gates and bus card readers with the switch to SimplyGo.

Mr Chee apologised for the delays experienced by commuters who tried to convert their older ez-link cards since Jan 9.
The Straits Times reported that the SimplyGo app became overwhelmed a day after the news broke, with users unable to use some of the app’s features. Passengers also faced difficulties in upgrading their ez-link cards to SimplyGo at ticketing offices and machines at MRT stations and bus interchanges, with the problem persisting into Jan 11.
“This could have been avoided with better preparation,” Mr Chee acknowledged, adding that LTA has worked to deal with these issues by updating the SimplyGo app and speeding up the card-conversion process.

Those who updated their ez-link cards to SimplyGo between Jan 9 and Jan 22, or bought SimplyGo-compatible ez-link cards during that period, will be able to exchange their cards for those that rely on the older ticketing system for free, if they prefer.
LTA said details about how this card exchange will be done will be made public by the end of February, citing the need for preparation time to minimise inconvenience to passengers.
Concession card holders, such as students and seniors, will also be able to revert to non-SimplyGo cards as part of this exchange.

Mr Chee said he has given LTA the task of studying ways to improve account-based ticketing cards. In particular, he has asked the agency to look into possible solutions for these newer cards to display fare deductions and card balances at fare gates and bus card readers.
The minister noted, however, that for the moment, there is no technical solution to this problem, and Singapore is not alone in facing this issue.
Like SimplyGo, account-based transit cards used in London and Hong Kong do not display fare deductions and card balances at fare gates as well, he said.
Earlier, LTA had said in response to media queries that while it was technically possible for fare and card balance information to be shown at fare gates and bus card readers with SimplyGo, it would take a few seconds to retrieve this information from the back-end system, and slow down the entry and exit of passengers. This would result in longer queues.
With SimplyGo, the idea was for a user to be able to view fare deductions and balances using a smartphone app, which can notify the user once he or she taps out from a bus or MRT stop.
Alternatively, users can also obtain fare information at ticketing machines at MRT stations and bus interchanges.
Other touted benefits of SimplyGo are that users are able to block further transactions through the app if they lose the cards and top up their travel cards on the move.
Yet many who still use older ez-link and Nets FlashPay cards expressed frustration over the reduced functionality that came with switching to SimplyGo. For instance, after the transition, the updated ez-link cards can no longer be used to pay for motoring expenses such as parking and Electronic Road Pricing charges.
After drawing flak from the public, a sign that the authorities had changed their minds came on Jan 19, when a free exchange of Nets FlashPay cards for Nets Prepaid cards that was planned to start that day was postponed on the day itself “until further notice”.

 

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Forum: ‘Yes’ to new fare cards if commuters had known about $40m​

JAN 30, 2024

I am disappointed that the Land Transport Authority is thinking of spending $40 million to extend the usage of the existing fare cards, mainly so that commuters can see fare deductions and card balances when tapping out at fare gates (Phasing out older payment cards in SimplyGo switch a ‘judgment error’, says Transport Minister, Jan 26).
If the public had known that so much money would be involved in keeping the old system, we would definitely be able to accept the minor inconvenience of not being able to see fare deductions and card balances when we tap out.
Therefore it was the right decision to retire the older cards but commuters just needed to know the reason for the change and the costs involved for keeping them.

Lin Hay Tsu

 

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Forum: Explain what happened during SimplyGo U-turn​

JAN 24, 2024


The announcement that commuters no longer need to switch to SimplyGo as the Land Transport Authority reversed its decision to scrap the older ticketing system by June was unexpected (LTA shelves plan to replace older public transport payment cards with SimplyGo by June, Jan 22).
After money was spent on a supposedly well-thought-through initiative, another $40 million will be spent so that commuters can continue using ez-link and Nets FlashPay cards for public transport.
It was reported the funds will be spent on maintaining and replacing the hardware of the card-based ticketing system. The authorities should still give a breakdown and account for the money spent.
In addition, the hiccups commuters experienced in the upgrading process are disappointing.
It was reported that people could not use some of the SimplyGo app’s features and passengers faced difficulties in upgrading their ez-link cards to SimplyGo cards after the news of the conversion broke.
I hope the authorities will explain clearly to commuters what happened during this U-turn.

Ng Lee Kwang

 

[50000]

govt collects too much money
budgets become too fat and easy to obtain
the agencies will create grand schemes to justify their budgets and to show that they are proactive
this is made worse by the fear that if the budget is not spent, it will be reduced the following year hence leading to even more frivolous spendings

I would like to see the day that the finance minister actually maintains or cut the budget, that's when priorities will be given and proper spending is made

 

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Forum: Merge OneService and LifeSG apps into one​

JAN 17, 2024

Like others whom I have spoken to, I am confused that OneService and LifeSG apps have overlapping services.
For example, when you report illegal parking in HDB estates on the OneService app, occasionally you will be prompted on whether you want to use the LifeSG app or stay with OneService.
Other services in the OneService app such as those on helping neighbours, booking facilities, construction noise, cleanliness, maintenance issues, HDB facilities and greenery are also found in LifeSG.
To avoid duplication, LifeSG should just focus on issues such as those concerning citizenship and community, education and learning, end of life, and family and parenting; and OneService solely on municipal issues.
Or both apps could be consolidated into one brand-new app that is more user-friendly.

Cheng Lai Wah

 

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Forum: Amount of carbon dioxide to be removed by $27m facility just a drop in the ocean​

MAR 05, 2024

I question the ecological and fiscal wisdom of investing $27 million to remove some 3,650 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) from the ocean yearly (PUB to build world’s largest facility to help remove CO2 from ocean, Feb 27).
The article states that by removing the CO2 from the sea, the seawater can absorb more CO2 from the atmosphere when it is pumped back into the ocean. Does this absorption of additional CO2 – a minuscule fraction of all the carbon dioxide the world economy pumps into the earth’s atmosphere – make the world a better place?
We are spending $27 million on a project that provides no ecological benefit to the world – and no material benefit to Singaporeans. This money could have been better spent on the physical infrastructure or economic security of Singapore’s people.

Eric J. Brooks

Article below:

PUB to build world’s largest facility to help remove CO2 from ocean​

Once fully operational in 2025, the facility can remove 3,650 tonnes of CO2 from the ocean yearly. PHOTO: EQUATIC

Cheryl Tan
Correspondent

FEB 28, 2024

SINGAPORE – As part of its efforts to tackle climate change, Singapore will be constructing the world’s largest facility to boost the ocean’s ability to absorb carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere.
The US$20 million (S$27 million) plant, once fully operational in 2025, will be able to remove some 3,650 tonnes of CO2 from the ocean yearly, while helping PUB to decarbonise its water treatment processes, the national water agency said on Feb 27.
When the seawater is pumped back into the ocean, it has the capacity to absorb more CO2 from the atmosphere.
The plan comes after two smaller pilot facilities – one in PUB’s R&D desalination plant in Tuas, and the other in the Port of Los Angeles – proved successful in removing CO2.
Both plants, which were set up in April 2023, are each able to remove some 100kg of the greenhouse gas from the ocean each day.
The technology, designed by American start-up Equatic, works by pumping seawater from adjacent desalination plants through electricity. This leads to a series of chemical reactions that split the seawater into hydrogen and oxygen. The dissolved CO2 is combined with minerals in seawater like calcium and magnesium to produce solid limestone – essentially trapping the CO2 for at least 10,000 years.
The process mimics the natural formation of seashells, and the solid calcium and magnesium-based materials can either be stored on the ocean floor, or potentially be used for construction materials if found viable.

The new plant known as Equatic-1, which will replace the one in Tuas, will demonstrate if the CO2 removal technology can work on a larger scale to meet PUB’s targets.
The planned facility will also produce some 300kg of hydrogen daily, which can power the plant or be used in other industrial applications.
Equatic-1 is expected to begin operations in the last quarter of 2024, starting with one tonne a day, with help from a multidisciplinary team comprising researchers and technology-scaling experts from the start-up and the Institute for Carbon Management at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). This will be scaled up to 10 tonnes per day in the second quarter of 2025.

As PUB’s water treatment processes, including desalination, are energy-intensive, it is looking to invest in research and development to reduce energy use and help capture and remove CO2 from its operations. The agency has a target to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2045.
The new plant will be equipped to remove some 10 tonnes of CO2 a day – a hundred times more than each of the two existing pilot plants.
PUB said the processed seawater will be further treated to reduce any potential impact to the marine environment. “PUB and Equatic will closely monitor any environmental impact arising from the operations of the demonstration plant (Equatic-1) via an independent consultant,” said its spokesman.
Once the new facility proves successful, Equatic will scale and commercialise its technology globally, said Professor Gaurav Sant, co-founder of the start-up and director of the Institute for Carbon Management.
On a commercial scale, the plant will be able to remove some 110,000 tonnes of CO2 yearly, equivalent to the carbon emissions of 25,000 people.
MORE ON THIS TOPIC
Tuas water reclamation plant on track for 2026 opening despite rising costs
PUB to set standards for coastal protection infrastructure against rising sea levels
A number of US start-ups are making headway in technologies to remove ocean-based carbon dioxide. For instance, California-based firm Ebb Carbon is planning to use electricity to make ocean water more alkaline, which would help absorb more CO2 from the atmosphere. It is planning to build its first small-scale plant in the Californian city of Pasadena to remove CO2 for storage underground or to be used for industrial processes.
RunningTide, based in Maine in the United States, signed an agreement with Microsoft, which aims to be carbon-negative by 2030, to remove and store some 12,000 tonnes of CO2 from the ocean by growing seaweed, which absorbs CO2 as it grows.
A 2018 report by the United Nations’ top climate science body – the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change – projected that around 100 to 1,000 gigatonnes of CO2 will need to be removed by the end of the century in order to limit global warming to 1.5 deg C.
Some methods of CO2 removal include planting new trees and using direct air capture technologies that suck CO2 from the atmosphere for permanent storage deep underground. Ocean-based means can also be used, and these involve harnessing various physical and chemical properties of the ocean to enhance its ability to store carbon.
Oceans are a natural store of CO2, absorbing around 30 per cent of CO2 emissions from human activity.
However, the increased uptake of CO2 has caused warming oceans, ocean acidification and oxygen loss, destroying many marine ecosystems and habitats. This affects the ocean’s ability to continue providing food, supporting livelihoods and insulating the world from the worsening impacts of climate change.
The costs of technologies that remove CO2 from oceans still remain high, and it is unclear what their impact might be on the ocean ecosystems, or if they could still be viable at a larger scale.
The project is funded by PUB, the National Research Foundation and the Institute for Carbon Management.
Once Equatic-1 is operational, carbon credits will be generated through the process, each representing a tonne of CO2 that is removed from the atmosphere.
PUB said that the credits will be allocated to each of the three project partners according to the proportion of funding that they had put in.


Equatic has already entered into agreements with companies like Boeing for the purchase of carbon credits from future commercial plants.
PUB added that it will continue to study the potential of integrating the technology as part of the desalination process in its plants, to determine which stage of the process would provide the most benefits in terms of net carbon abatement.
For example, capturing carbon dioxide from seawater at the beginning of the desalination process could help lower the overall energy requirements of desalination.
PUB’s chief engineering and technology officer Pang Chee Meng said: “We are pleased to further our collaboration with UCLA and Equatic to develop a solution that has potential synergies with PUB’s desalination plants.
“We firmly believe that technological advancements, delivered in partnership with academia and the private sector, hold the key to addressing the complex challenges posed by climate change.”

 

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Forum: Change in funding models essential for Healthier SG’s success​

MAR 05, 2024

I found the recent Opinion piece on Healthier SG’s potential highly insightful (Art therapy and befriending services: Doctors should prescribe these in some cases, March 2).
Healthier SG represents a significant step towards improving public health, but its success hinges on addressing inconsistencies between the programme’s goals and existing healthcare funding models.
A crucial oversight lies in the programme’s apparent disregard for those who rely mainly on employer-provided insurance, which often restricts coverage to only specific networks of general practitioners (GPs). These GPs may not be enrolled in Healthier SG.
Some companies may subsidise non-panel clinics that are enrolled in Healthier SG, but employees may have to fork out more than at panel clinics.
This problem is particularly acute and disruptive when employees switch employers, or when employers change insurance providers. In both scenarios, individuals are forced to navigate a new network of enrolled GPs, hindering the crucial continuity of care essential for successful preventive healthcare.
Building trust and rapport with a familiar GP is vital for individuals to openly discuss health concerns, adhere to treatment plans, participate in preventive screenings and, as the Opinion piece mentioned, receive social prescription. Employer-provided insurance plans, with their limitations, directly contradict this fundamental requirement.
To ensure Healthier SG’s long-term success, a shift in funding models is essential. We need a system that prioritises continuity and incentivises all stakeholders, including patients, healthcare providers, employers and insurers, to engage in long-term relationships.

The Ministry of Manpower’s (MOM) existing efforts to promote portable medical benefits, while facing a low uptake, offer a valuable head start.
Collaborative efforts between MOM and the Ministry of Health may be crucial to ensure Healthier SG reaches its full potential.

Shawn Lee Chieh Loong (Dr)

 

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15 police cars to search for 2 hours to find a mobile phone snatch thief!

Woman who lied to police that her mobile phone was snatched gets 5 days’ jail​

Lee Yi-Ching’s lies caused the police to activate 15 fast response cars to conduct a manhunt that lasted nearly two hours. ST PHOTO: KELVIN CHNG

Shaffiq Alkhatib
Court Correspondent

MAR 21, 2024

SINGAPORE – A woman lied to the police that a man she did not know had snatched her mobile phone in Geylang when, in fact, her boyfriend was in possession of the device at the time.
The prosecution said that she dropped the device when they quarrelled, and she was aware that her boyfriend had picked it up.
Thirty-six-year-old Lee Yi-Ching’s lies caused the police to activate 15 fast response cars to conduct a manhunt that lasted nearly two hours.
Police officers were also tasked to review footage from closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras around Lorong 32 Geylang.
The truth emerged when the police interviewed the Taiwanese woman’s boyfriend who said that he had taken the mobile phone and had intended to return it to her.
Lee finally admitted to her lies on Aug 25, 2023.
Deputy Public Prosecutor John Lu told the court: “The accused confessed that she had quarrelled with her boyfriend the previous day and he wanted to return the mobile phone to her, but she was upset with him.

“The accused also clarified that her boyfriend did not snatch or steal the mobile phone from her.”
On March 21, Lee pleaded guilty to giving false information to a public servant and was sentenced to five days’ jail.
Her boyfriend told investigators during an interview that he was with her at a pub in Sembawang on Aug 24, 2023.

The couple left at around 9pm and he drove her home in a van. For reasons not disclosed in court documents, Lee, who had consumed alcohol, screamed at the man before she alighted.
The man also got out of the vehicle and was walking her home when she dropped her mobile phone.
He picked it up but Lee refused to take back the device. Instead, she screamed at him when he tried to return it to her.
Her boyfriend left the premises with the mobile phone and decided to hand it to her the next day.

Shortly after 10pm, Lee went to Geylang Neighbourhood Police Centre and told a police officer that an unknown man had snatched her mobile phone while she was on her way home in Lorong 32 Geylang.
During the investigation, officers viewed CCTV footage showing her getting out of a van with a man before she got into an argument with him.
Police officers interviewed the boyfriend at around 3.15am, and he revealed that he had kept the mobile phone after Lee refused to take it back from him.
On March 21, the DPP urged the court to sentence Lee to up to a week in jail.
Stressing that her lies had resulted in a complete and significant waste of public resources, he added: “The accused maintained the false narrative for 16 hours and 42 minutes which resulted in the accused’s boyfriend having to be inconvenienced by the surprise and unpleasantness of the police investigations.”
For giving false information to a public servant, an offender can be jailed for up to two years and fined.

 

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LTA to look at ways to make Marine Parade bus stop more user-friendly for commuters: Chee Hong Tat​

The pillars at the bus stop are making it more difficult to see approaching buses. ST PHOTO: CHONG JUN LIANG

The unusual design of the Marine Parade MRT station bus stop has drawn flak. ST PHOTO: CHONG JUN LIANG

Carmen Sin

Jul 09, 2024

SINGAPORE - One way to solve a problem commuters are facing at the new bus stop opposite Parkway Parade mall due to its design is to install cameras that allow those seated at the bus stop to see footage of arriving buses.
This is among the suggestions the Land Transport Authority (LTA) has been asked to consider so that the bus stop can be made more user-friendly for commuters, said Transport Minister Chee Hong Tat.
In a Facebook post on July 6, Mr Chee said with the installation of cameras, commuters who are seated at the bus stop can see the oncoming buses and have more time to get ready for boarding.
If this works, LTA can implement it at other bus stops with similar site constraints or pillars that hinder the view of approaching buses.
The unusual design of the Marine Parade MRT station bus stop has drawn flak due to two issues, Mr Chee said.
“First, the pillars at the bus stop are making it more difficult to see approaching buses. Second, it is a long bus stop with two different bus bays and commuters are not sure what buses stop at which bay.”
Mr Chee said the pillars are meant to support the roof and had to be installed at the front – rather than at the back as is more common – because there are underground drains at the back of the bus stop.

“Building the pillars at the back, on top of the underground drains, would hamper subsequent maintenance work that needs to be done,” he added.
Mr Chee said LTA had considered other locations for this bus stop, but decided to stick to this spot and work around the site constraints because it is a shorter distance for commuters to walk to and from Marine Parade MRT station.
“I recognise the downside of this arrangement, as it means commuters could not clearly see the approaching buses when they are seated inside the bus stop,” said Mr Chee.

However, with technology, not having a direct line of sight does not mean no visibility, he added.
“For example, we could consider installing a camera which faces the oncoming traffic, and show the video footage on display screens inside the bus stops.
“This way, commuters who are seated inside the bus stop can see the oncoming buses and have more time to get ready for their boarding.”

The long bus stop has two different bus bays. ST PHOTO: CHONG JUN LIANG
As for the two bus bays at the stop, Mr Chee said LTA’s reasoning was that it will speed up boarding as many buses call at the same bus stop, and if the buses were not separated, commuters might have to walk farther to board them.
“I understand LTA’s reasons for having two bus bays. LTA will improve the signages at the bus stop to make it clearer to commuters where they should go to wait for their bus,” he added.
Mr Chee said LTA will provide an update on the improvements to be made after its review.
Complaints about the Marine Parade bus stop emerged on Reddit on July 3, with one person asking: “Which genius designed this? No one can see incoming buses thanks to the row of pillars obscuring the view.”
The post, with a picture of the bus stop, has attracted 114 comments so far.
The bus stop began operations shortly before the new Thomson-East Coast Line station opened on June 23.

 

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NParks, MOE possibly overpaid contractors, among other lapses: Auditor-General’s Office report​

NParks said it is reviewing and updating its contracts to ensure that works carried out do not deviate from what is stated. ST PHOTO: KELVIN CHNG
Wong Pei Ting
Correspondent

Jul 18, 2024

SINGAPORE – The National Parks Board (NParks) possibly overpaid an estimated $1.93 million to contractors responsible for developing and upgrading parks and open spaces in Singapore, said the Auditor-General’s Office (AGO).
Separately, the Ministry of Education (MOE) could have overpaid its contractors a net amount of $317,100 for three school construction projects, the AGO said.
These were among the lapses flagged in its annual audit of government accounts, made public on July 17, a day after it was presented to Parliament.
The report for the 2023/2024 financial year covered the financial statements of three statutory boards, four government-owned companies, and two other accounts, as well as the government financial statements. The government financial statements incorporate the accounts of all 16 government ministries and eight organs of state.
The report highlighted three main areas in which lapses were uncovered: procurement and contract management, grant management, and revenue and collection management.
The AGO also conducted a thematic audit on several parenthood support measures administered by the Ministry of Social and Family Development and the Early Childhood Development Agency. The Government had disbursed $4.55 billion under these schemes during the audit period from April 2021 to end-June 2023.
NParks, MOE and Nanyang Polytechnic (NYP), meanwhile, filed police reports after the AGO detected possible irregularities in records provided by these institutions.

In a statement on the report, the Ministry of Finance (MOF) said the Government takes the AGO’s observations seriously.
“Where lapses have been identified, agency heads will review each case thoroughly to get to the root cause, and implement measures to address the issues promptly,” it said.

NParks’ contract management lapses​

Test-checks on two NParks term contracts uncovered 42 lapses, including instances when full payment was made for work not done according to specifications, as well as shortfalls involving the valuation of work done and duplicate payments.

The possible overpayment to contractors for these works stood at $1.93 million, which translates to 18 per cent of the total value of the 60 work orders checked. The work orders were issued from April 2020 to March 2023, and totalled $10.56 million in value.
The AGO highlighted 18 instances where NParks made full payment for work that was not done according to requirements, resulting in possible overpayment of $1.27 million to contractors.
In one instance, NParks had ordered the construction of two grass and gravel tracks totalling a distance of 1.2km. The contractor used cheaper quarry dust instead, but NParks paid it according to the original contract rate. This resulted in a possible overpayment of $810,000.
The AGO cited another incident where a contractor had installed distance markers made of 3.2mm-thick steel, rather than 5mm-thick steel bollard markers as NParks had requested. Still, NParks paid the contractor using the rate for the thicker markers, resulting in a possible overpayment of $250,000.
The AGO said NParks has to improve its oversight and management of term contracts, adding that inadequate checks on works done and verification of payments “did not give assurance that NParks had obtained full value for the public funds spent”.

In a statement, NParks said it had recovered $290,000 as at May, and is working with contractors to claw back the remaining amount in the next few months.
It added that internal investigations found no indication of fraud or ill intention, although disciplinary action has been taken against the staff involved for the oversights.
NParks said it is reviewing and updating its contracts to ensure that works carried out do not deviate from what is stated. It has also engaged external consultants to check works and payment claims for higher-value projects.
NParks said it will put in place measures like staff checks throughout the period of works, and ensure it can accurately account for the final items delivered or completed.
Staff will undergo refresher training to uphold standards of project and contract management, and raise awareness of the checks required before payment is made, it added.

Payments for work not carried out at schools​

The value of these contracts, for two primary schools and a junior college, totalled $171.8 million. PHOTO: LIANHE ZAOBAO
The AGO also flagged procurement and contract management-related lapses at MOE.
The ministry had failed to properly manage three consultant-managed school construction contracts test-checked by the AGO. The value of these contracts, for two primary schools and a junior college, totalled $171.8 million.
Of the $317,100 that could have been overpaid, AGO said $49,400 was for 900 student lockers that were not installed, and $28,700 for textured spray coating that was not applied to staircases. All in all, lapses of this nature made up $218,400 in possible overpayments, the AGO said.
The remaining $98,700 was tabulated from 55 other instances where AGO found that variation works were improperly valued.
“The lapses pointed to the need for MOE to improve its system of checks and oversight of consultants,” the AGO said in its report.
It added that while MOE had engaged consultants to manage such school development projects on its behalf, it remained responsible for the use of public funds and should not be overly reliant on the consultants.
In a statement, MOE said it had recovered $68,000 out of the estimated total overpaid, and aims to recover the rest by end-2024. It will check all other ongoing school development projects for possible overpayments and other contract management lapses, it said.
The ministry said it has issued stern warnings to the consultants of the audited projects for not following procedures. It also noted that these consultants’ chances of securing future tenders will be impacted, as their appraisals are shared with other public sector agencies.
MOE added that it will recruit more specialised officers to verify and assess the reasonableness of rates and computations used by consultants.
The AGO also flagged long delays in finalising accounts for 20 construction contracts under MOE, with delays ranging from two months to more than three years.
MOE said it had paid contractors for all work certified complete by appointed consultants prior to the audit. Of the outstanding balance of $6.41 million, the ministry has since paid up a further $1.8 million, and is in discussions with contractors on the valuation of work done for the rest.
On concerns raised over the authenticity of certain quotations provided for construction contracts, the ministry said the matter has been reported to the police.
“MOE has zero tolerance for improper quotations, and expects our consultants and contractors to adopt the same stance,” it said.

NYP’s billing issues​

The sum was for 134 bills with amounts ranging from $50 to $1.24 million, issued to 40 sponsoring companies and 26 self-sponsored trainees. ST PHOTO: BRIAN TEO
NYP was flagged for not being prompt in issuing bills for Continuing Education and Training (CET) course fees amounting to $8.98 million.
The sum was for 134 bills with amounts ranging from $50 to $1.24 million, issued to 40 sponsoring companies and 26 self-sponsored trainees. They were issued as late as one year after the courses had begun, the AGO said.
It also said the polytechnic did not promptly follow up on outstanding course fees. This meant course fees totalling $240,000 for 304 bills had been outstanding for periods of time from six months to 3½ years as at Nov 15, 2023.
AGO’s test-check on 45 of the 304 bills also found that there was inadequate follow-up on 43 bills totalling $95,600.
NYP did not attempt to recover the debt via phone calls or reminder e-mails, though this was required by its procedures, AGO added.
NYP has since recovered some $110,000, or 46 per cent of the outstanding course fees, as at April 2024, while writing off another $30,000 from 62 bills. But the AGO said the school should put in place procedures for prompt billing and collection of CET course fees.
It should also ensure these procedures are consistently applied and enforced, as the longer the fees remain unpaid, the lower the likelihood of recovery, the AGO said.

MOF responds to Auditor-General’s findings​

In its statement, MOF said the AGO audits are crucial for maintaining public trust, accountability and transparency in the management of public monies.
The Government will continuously undertake efforts to strengthen governance capabilities, processes and systems across agencies, MOF said. It added that good practices highlighted will be communicated across public agencies to raise governance standards.
MOF said the Government will continue to improve on the three main areas where lapses were uncovered, including by better using technology.
The Government is also committed to strengthening the capabilities of public officers and consultants involved in managing complex construction projects, said MOF.
MOF said it launched a built environment procurement competency framework with the Building and Construction Authority in 2023, and is working with the authority on a course to train public officers and consultants to administer a common contract form to be used for all public sector construction projects.
“The public service remains committed to upholding values of integrity, service and excellence,” MOF added.
“We continue to innovate and improve to respond to higher public expectations, higher complexities of our work, and rising work volumes. We will continue to improve our policies, processes and systems to serve Singapore and Singaporeans better.”

 

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Auditor-General finds misuse of CDA funds, government-paid leave for parents​

The AGO also flagged issues with system errors that affected subsidies for infant care and childcare, as well as kindergarten fee assistance in pre-schools. PHOTO: ST FILE

Shermaine Ang

Jul 17, 2024

SINGAPORE - An audit of government accounts has flagged issues such as the misuse of government-paid parental leave and withdrawals from the Child Development Account (CDA) to purchase unapproved items, including adult-size sunglasses.
In a report on July 17, the Auditor-General’s Office (AGO) noted that some parents over-declared their employment income at the start of the leave claim period. Others made multiple employer claims for the same child, with companies where they were directors or shareholders.
Three parents accounted for 26 of 55 cases of possible abuse of the government-paid parental leave scheme, involving disbursements totalling $690,000.
The Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) has reported this to the police and blocked errant employers from making further claims.
These findings were part of the AGO’s thematic audit on parenthood support measures by MSF and the Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA). This audit is an in-depth examination of a selected area, which may involve more than one public sector entity.
The full report by the AGO also highlighted key lapses by various ministries and public agencies for the 2023/2024 financial year.
Both MSF and ECDA were found to have put in place processes and controls to ensure proper management of the schemes. These included using technology to reduce human error in grant administration, as well as processes to check and approve the disbursement of grants.

They also had processes to monitor grants or subsidies given, and manage the cessation of grants.
However, the audit also pointed out certain areas for improvement, such as system errors leading to inaccurate grant administration.
For MSF, the audit found 77 cases where a total of $75,700 extra in grants had been given out. These typically involved cases where disbursements for government-paid maternity, paternity and childcare leave were made, even though eligibility criteria were not met.

For example, some parents had claimed extended childcare leave when the child was over 12 years old, when the last such claim should be made. These occurred mainly due to inadequate system checks or lapses.
On the misuse of CDA funds, the AGO also found that receipts provided as supporting documents for two CDA withdrawals could have been fabricated for the audit.
The AGO also flagged issues with system errors that affected subsidies for infant care and childcare, as well as kindergarten fee assistance in pre-schools.
For 45 such instances, these errors resulted in a total of at least $26,900 extra being given out in some cases, and at least $1,300 too little given out in others. They also led to subsidies being disbursed to ineligible applicants.
The AGO also noted that two pre-school centres did not declare that significant discounts had been given for programme fees for eight children enrolled. This resulted in $19,400 extra being given out in subsidies.

It also found over-disbursement of $272,100 to seven pre-school anchor and partner operators that submitted ineligible grant claims. These included claims for centre-based staff bonuses and salary costs of senior management at operators’ headquarters.
There were also delays in ECDA’s processing and disbursing of grant claims to pre-school operators, with AGO noting that this could affect operators’ cash flows.
Responding to the AGO report, MSF said it has taken action against unauthorised CDA withdrawals. CDA trustees who misuse CDA monies will be required to make refunds to the CDA.
Institutions approved for such withdrawals – such as childcare centres, medical clinics and optical shops – will be fined or suspended if they breach their obligations to check the purchase and keep proper records.
MSF has made police reports for six cases of unauthorised withdrawals with suspected criminal intent.
“To prevent future cases of fraud and abuse, MSF has enhanced capabilities for detection, investigation and enforcement,” said the ministry.
These include system checks to flag suspicious claims for government-paid parental leave and send them for additional verification and investigation. MSF added that this may result in longer processing times for non-straightforward claims, such as for those who hold multiple jobs.
The AGO said MSF will be revising the reimbursement cap for government-paid parental leave to prevent parents from making multiple claims through different employers.
On the lapses in the administration of pre-school subsidies, MSF said ECDA has taken action to recover over-disbursements of subsidies and make up for under-disbursements, as well as issuing warning letters to the errant pre-schools.
ECDA is taking steps to strengthen its subsidy administration system, such as by rolling out a national means-testing system by end-2024 to improve the efficiency and accuracy of the means-testing of families applying for pre-school subsidies.
The ministry said that MSF and ECDA have systems and controls in place to ensure Singaporeans can benefit from the various grants, including new digital systems to ensure accurate disbursements and detect fraudulent behaviour.
“These systems and controls have worked as intended for the vast majority of cases. Cases where there is potential abuse of the system are exceptions and have been promptly dealt with,” it added.

 

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Accounts of 18 dead ActiveSG members used to enter pools, gyms, and other findings in AGO report​

The accounts of 18 dead ActiveSG members were used for 283 admissions to pools and gyms. ST PHOTO: BRIAN TEO
Wong Pei Ting
Correspondent

Jul 18, 2024

SINGAPORE – The Auditor-General’s Office (AGO) on July 17 released its report on key lapses by ministries and public agencies in the last financial year. Here are its main findings:

Sport Singapore (SportSG)​

Lapses

• The accounts of 18 dead ActiveSG members were used for 283 admissions to pools and gyms. In some cases, members had died for as long as 4.8 years before the dates of entry.
• AGO also found that 1,860 admissions over a 12-month period were made using passes belonging to 339 member accounts that were shared, although the passes were strictly non-transferable under ActiveSG’s terms of use.
• For 1,834 admissions, members had used their passes to enter an ActiveSG pool or gym while their accounts were concurrently being used for entry at the same or a different pool or gym.
• Another 2,563 members had abused free admission benefits meant for seniors aged 65 and above. They accounted for 20,582 of the 22,618 admissions involving the use of special or discounted passes by ineligible persons.
• AGO said inadequate controls over admissions to pools and gyms would lead to “revenue leakage” for SportSG.

SportSG’s response

• SportSG said it has improved its ActiveSG membership system, which will include safeguards such as dynamic QR codes, the use of sgID, and Singpass data synchronisation to prevent abuse.
• In addition, the agency said it has put in place guides and checklists to ensure its staff are clear on the processes where manual checks are needed, and will carry out periodic checks to detect unusual admission transactions.

Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA)​

Lapses

• Surprise stocktakes at three equipment locations – two involving the Singapore Civil Defence Force and one involving the police – found issues with inventory and records management.
• This was part of an audit of MHA’s management of a $783.83 million contract to provide logistics services, including warehouse management services.
• AGO found discrepancies between the inventory balance records and physical inventory at all three places. The police said in its case, these were largely due to items misplaced but subsequently found, as well as errors in records. There was no loss of items, it added.
• It also found overpayments totalling $151,900 and underpayments totalling $84,300 made to the vendor under the same contract between January 2020 and September 2023.

MHA’s response

• MHA said it has taken immediate steps to improve inventory management, with the police working with their vendor to reorganise their store, and with their units to complete data cleansing of inventory records by end-July.
• On overpayments, MHA said it would offset the net overpayment from the next performance bonus payout to the vendor and apply the right method when computing future bonuses.

Sentosa Development Corporation (SDC)​

Lapses at SDC involved the management of two vehicle maintenance contracts with a value totalling $3.62 million. PHOTO: ST FILE
Lapses

• Lapses at SDC involved the management of two vehicle maintenance contracts with a value totalling $3.62 million. They were awarded to a contractor for a period of five years, from July 1, 2020, to June 30, 2025. As at Dec 12, 2023, 147 vehicles were to be maintained under them.
• AGO’s analysis found that 151 out of 1,593 servicing jobs scheduled on 54 vehicles were not performed. The number of quarterly servicing jobs not done for each of the 54 vehicles ranged from one to eight instances.
• SDC was, however, not aware and did not take these into consideration when evaluating the contractor’s monthly performance, AGO said.
• AGO added that it found 73 jobs with “telltale signs” that the contractor had created servicing job sheets even though no work was done. This was unacceptable, AGO said.

SDC’s response

• SDC said its contract management team was replaced in January 2024. The new team has improved processes, including checks and documentation to ensure all required works are carried out according to schedule.
• SDC is also establishing an agreement with its contractor to omit payment for missed servicing works for the remaining contract period till June 30, 2025.

Building and Construction Authority (BCA)​

Lapses

• BCA did not adequately monitor the performance of its appointed operator for Jurong Apartments, which served as a quarantine facility for foreign workers during the Covid-19 pandemic, before making payments.
• During a site visit to 12 dwelling units in November 2023, AGO found six were poorly maintained, even though the operator was responsible for their upkeep.
• AGO also noted 20 instances of lapses in 19 out of 25 declaration forms required for five other projects. Seven involved panel members who were evaluating grants, but did not indicate whether they were in a position of conflict of interest or not. In another instance, a panel member had checked off conflicting declaration statements in the form.

BCA’s response

• BCA said it acknowledged its gaps in monitoring contract requirements and the operator’s work, particularly during the stepped-down operations from October 2022 onwards when the building was no longer occupied.
• As part of its remedial actions, BCA said it verified that the operator performed necessary works based on maintenance schedules and proof of work done. It also said this was a procedural lapse, with no fraudulent activities nor malicious intent found.
• BCA also said it has since used electronic forms that have compulsory fields for declarations and reminders for members to declare any conflict of interest prior to evaluation meetings. Members who declare a conflict of interest would be recused.
• The authority added that follow-up checks did not find any actual conflicts of interest in the instances flagged.

Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA)​

Lapses

• After checking six requests for quotation (RFQ) with a value of $4.43 million combined, AGO found that IMDA did not make clear the criteria by which one RFQ would be evaluated, so the outcome of the eventual award could have been different.
• One vendor submitted a bid that was less than half the price quoted by the awarded vendor, AGO noted.

IMDA’s response

• IMDA said it would review and update its processes and guidelines to staff to ensure that all requirements to be scored were explicitly stated.

Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF)/ Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA)​

Lapses

• AGO said MSF and ECDA generally have processes and controls to ensure parenthood support measures administered by them are properly managed.
• Areas for improvement include monitoring mechanisms for the Baby Bonus Scheme to ensure that Child Development Account (CDA) withdrawals were made only at registered approved institutions, and for authorised beneficiaries and eligible items, AGO said.
• AGO had detected unusual patterns of withdrawals from five CDAs by three parents or trustees during its audit. On these five accounts, 85 withdrawals totalling $28,900 were made within short periods of time. The frequent withdrawals and the nature of items purchased, such as adult-sized sunglasses, indicated a possible abuse of CDA monies, AGO said.

MSF’s response

• MSF said it has been generating regular data analytics reports since February to help detect and investigate anomalous transactions, adding that it would also carry out regular audits on approved institutions.
• The ministry has lodged a police report against the three parents or trustees.

Ministry of Education (MOE)/ Nanyang Polytechnic (NYP)​

The AGO flagged procurement and contract management-related lapses at MOE in its report on July 17. PHOTO: LIANHE ZAOBAO FILE
Lapses

• AGO found lapses in MOE’s management of three school construction contracts. They included approvals obtained only after variation works started, lapses in the valuation of contract variations, and payments for works not carried out or not done in accordance to contractual requirements.
• The total net possible overpayment to contractors resulting from the lapses is estimated to be $317,100. This includes $49,400 paid towards 900 student lockers that were not installed, and $28,700 paid towards textured spray coating which was not applied to staircases.
• Over at NYP, AGO found that 134 bills for Continuing Education and Training course fees totalling $8.98 million were issued after classes had commenced. Bills were found to have been issued as late as a year after the courses’ start date.
• NYP also did not promptly follow-up on outstanding course fees that were due, with $240,000 in course fees owed for six months to as long as 3.5 years as at Nov 15, 2023.

MOE/NYP response

• MOE said it would step up on-site supervision and audits to verify works done, ensure that variation works were carried out, and issue stern warnings to consultants who failed to exercise due diligence when carrying out variation works. It also aims to develop an IT system by end-2024 to improve contract administration.
• NYP said it would work on engaging a service provider to recover debts, adding that it has made changes to processes for billing and fee collection via a training portal rolled out in July 2023.

National Parks Board (NParks)​

Lapses

• Test-checks on two NParks’ term contracts uncovered 42 lapses, of which 18 instances involved full payment made for work not done according to specifications, resulting in possible overpayments of $1.27 million to contractors.
• Together with other lapses, which include shortfalls in the valuation of work done and duplicate payments, the total possible overpayment was estimated to be $1.93 million - 18 per cent of the total value of the 60 work orders checked.
• AGO cited an example where NParks had ordered the construction of two grass and gravel tracks, totalling a distance of 1.2km. The contractor used cheaper quarry dust instead, but NParks paid it according to the original contract rate. This resulted in a possible overpayment of $810,000.

Nparks’ response

• NParks said it took action to recover $290,000 of the $1.93 million in possible overpayments as at May, and will work towards recovering the remaining overpayments.
• It has also tightened verification processes to ensure that works carried out on-site did not deviate from the required works and drawings. For projects of higher value, NParks has engaged external consultants to check the works and payment claims, it said.

 

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Forum: Deploying 17 ambulances for food poisoning incident stretches emergency services thin​

Aug 01, 2024

In a recent incident involving food poisoning, 17 ambulances were deployed to transport affected individuals to hospitals (At least 60 people ill after mass food poisoning case at Singapore ByteDance office, July 30).
While ensuring the health and safety of citizens is paramount, the allocation of such a significant number of emergency vehicles raises questions about the efficient use of resources. Fire engines and a mass decontamination vehicle were also deployed.
Food poisoning, while potentially serious, often does not require immediate hospital intervention for every affected individual. Deploying 17 ambulances not only stretches emergency services thin but also limits their availability for other urgent medical emergencies, such as heart attacks, accidents, or strokes, where every second counts.
Public health education on recognising the symptoms of food poisoning and understanding when it is necessary to seek emergency care could also reduce unnecessary calls for ambulances.
While the response to potential public health threats should never be underestimated, it is crucial to manage resources effectively. We should aim to ensure that emergency services are readily available for all citizens when they are most needed.

Gabriel Chia Sit Loke

 

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Marine Parade shuttle bus service costs about $1m a year to run, funded largely by donations​

The seven shuttle bus routes in the Marine Parade cluster are operated by buses that ply the roads from 10am to 4pm on weekdays. ST PHOTO: ONG WEE JIN

Kok Yufeng
Transport Correspondent

Aug 07, 2024

SINGAPORE - A free shuttle bus service for residents in Marine Parade GRC, MacPherson and Mountbatten costs about $1 million a year to operate, with the South East Community Development Council (CDC) providing a one-off $200,000 seed grant to support the pilot scheme.
The remaining 80 per cent or so comes from donations raised by the CDC, and by the respective grassroots organisations, Minister of State for Culture, Community and Youth Alvin Tan told Parliament on Aug 7.
“Essentially, the Government matches donations raised by the CDCs with grants, which the CDCs can use to support ground-up initiatives,” Mr Tan said in response to questions from opposition MPs about the cost of the shuttle service and how it is being funded.
The total cost of the one-year shuttle bus trial, which started on July 8, works out to about $150,000 per division for each route. The South East CDC grant amounts to about $2,400 per division each month, he added.
The five CDCs here were established in 1997 under the People’s Association Act, which comes under the purview of the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth.
Mr Tan said the seven shuttle bus routes in the Marine Parade cluster are operated by seven buses that ply the roads during non-peak hours from 10am to 4pm on weekdays, excluding public holidays.
To date, more than 10,000 Marine Parade cluster residents have registered for the shuttle, with more than 40 per cent of them being seniors aged 65 and above. Over the past three weeks, about 1,000 residents have taken the shuttle service each week.

Mr Tan said it is too early to assess if the service is effective.
Beyond utilisation, the financial sustainability of the shuttle is a critical factor, he added.
“As the CDC grant was provided on a once-off basis, the Marine Parade town cluster grassroots organisations will have to eventually raise funds to cover the entire cost of operations, or refine its financing model for greater sustainability,” said Mr Tan.

Progress Singapore Party Non-Constituency MPs Hazel Poa and Leong Mun Wai had asked whether funding could be made available to other constituencies, and if resources could be provided to launch free shuttle services in other areas.
Mr Tan said: “Many previous attempts at trying out local shuttle services have been discontinued because of low utilisation or financial challenges. Hence, there are still many aspects of the service to validate and refine through the pilot.
“The other CDCs will study the experiences and findings from this pilot first, before considering starting similar initiatives.”

Explaining how the MPs for the Marine Parade cluster had decided on the need for such a service, Mr Tan said several factors were considered.
He said these constituencies have a high proportion of residents who are seniors, and a significant part of the Marine Parade cluster comprises older estates with narrow roads, making it difficult for large public buses to serve these areas.
The Land Transport Authority (LTA) was consulted to ensure the shuttle service would not affect public bus operations when using bus stops, he said.
Mr Tan added that while LTA and the Transport Ministry plan public transport services, this does not preclude localised efforts, such as private shuttles by condominiums, to address specific needs.
Leader of the Opposition Pritam Singh noted the unhappiness caused by bus rationalisation exercises in recent years, including the decision to withdraw bus service 167, which was later reversed.
In contrast, the new shuttle bus service was announced about a week after seven MRT stations opened along the eastern stretch of the Thomson-East Coast Line, he noted.
“Does the Minister of State not agree that the introduction of the Marine Parade cluster bus service will make it far more challenging for the Government to undertake future bus service rationalisation exercises?” the Workers’ Party (WP) chief asked.
Mr Singh also wondered if the Marine Parade shuttle service opens the door for LTA to introduce similar services elsewhere through the public transport system.
“If not, what does the launch of the Marine Parade cluster bus service say about the Government’s approach to equity and fairness in the use of taxpayer-funded grants?” he asked.
In response, Transport Minister Chee Hong Tat said the Marine Parade shuttle is a community initiative that is separate from the public transport network.
Mr Chee said the suggestion of using shuttle buses for public transport “does not fit well”, as drivers would still need to be hired and passenger capacity may be insufficient.
He also said the rationalisation of bus routes running parallel to MRT lines will continue, and these savings can then be used to fund new public bus services.
But doing this alone would be inadequate “because we have more demand than what we can rationalise”, noted Mr Chee. This was why the authorities announced a $900 million Bus Connectivity Enhancement Programme on July 30.
Separately, WP MP Gerald Giam (Aljunied GRC) asked why the MPs for the Marine Parade cluster are fronting the free shuttle, noting that their caricatures are on one side of the buses.
Replying, Mr Tan said the caricatures and drawings of Marine Parade landmarks are meant to make it easier for residents to identify the buses.
At the end of the 90 minutes allotted for question time, Mr Singh rose to ask for an extension of 15 to 20 minutes for more questions on the issue to be aired.
Deputy Speaker of Parliament Christopher de Souza turned down the request, noting that the House had already exceeded question time by five minutes