MHA clerk charged with forgery, CBT
By Julia Ng | Posted: 22 December 2011 1419 hrs
SINGAPORE: A clerk who allegedly cheated the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) of some S$617,000 was charged on Thursday.
The ministry said 35-year-old Liew Chee Meng was charged with 455 counts of forgery, cheating, criminal breach of trust and using the proceeds he had acquired fraudulently.
A ministry spokesperson told Channel NewsAsia that Liew had joined the ministry in July 2003 as a junior civilian clerical officer in MHA's Strategic Planning and Development Division.
His work involved supporting the division in financial matters, and helping to organise internal and external events.
Liew had exploited this position when he allegedly forged approval documents for buying gift vouchers, and used the vouchers for his personal purchases. The alleged acts took place between 2007 and early 2011.
They were uncovered by MHA in January this year during proactive audits undertaken following last year's high-profile SLA fraud case.
The matter was immediately reported to the police and subsequent investigations by the Commercial Affairs Department resulted in Liew's prosecution.
Investigation officers have since recovered nearly S$475,000 worth of goods from Liew.
As the case is now before the courts, MHA is unable to provide further details at this point in time. An MHA spokesperson said the ministry views this case "extremely seriously".
After it discovered the fraud in January, the ministry took immediate steps to tighten procurement processes and strengthen internal controls.
An independent review panel comprising senior officials from other ministries and a statutory board was also convened to examine the facts and circumstances of the case, and to review current systems.
The panel has concluded its review and has made recommendations to improve procurement procedures and internal controls. MHA has accepted all the recommendations and implemented them.
The recommendations include paying more attention to small transactions. A professional audit firm was also brought in to thoroughly inspect small purchases made over the last two years, and a ministry spokesperson told Channel NewsAsia that no further suspicious cases were found.
Every purchase will now also has to be verified by two officers from the same division, and the finance division will put up a monthly transaction report for the divisional director to scrutinise.
Disciplinary proceedings have been taken against the five MHA officers - Liew's supervisors and finance officers - whose oversight allowed the fraud to occur.
MHA said the officers have been disciplined in accordance with the civil service's disciplinary framework.
Liew is currently out on a S$140,000 bail. His case will be mentioned again on 5 January 2012.
- CNA/al/ir
