SINGAPORE: A social development officer tasked to help low-income families seeking financial assistance from a mosque embezzled S$21,000 from the religious institution instead.
For one count of criminal breach of trust, 28-year-old Nurul Jannah Md Latiff was sentenced on Friday (Aug 7) to eight weeks' jail.
The court heard that she was employed as a social development officer at Assyakirin Mosque from June 2014. She helped low-income families with the administration of documents so that they could obtain financial assistance.
The mosque collected donations from congregants, which were placed either in donation chests inside the mosque or in donation containers during Friday prayers.
Between October 2018 and April 2019, Nurul volunteered to count cash donations collected from the Friday prayers, together with other staff members of the mosque, even though it was not in her job scope.
She began taking cash of about S$1,000 to S$1,500 from the donations, which had been tied in wads with rubber bands, and concealed them in her sleeve before counting the rest of the money.
She would then walk out of the office with the cash, transferring them to her bag.
In November 2019, the executive chairman of the mosque in Jurong West found out about the offences and filed a police report after seeking advice from the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (MUIS).
Nurul admitted taking the cash collections from the donations, and said she used them to pay for her home renovation and bank loans.
She has since made restitution of S$30,000, and pleaded guilty.
For criminal breach of trust, she could have been jailed for up to seven years, fined, or both.
In response to the case, MUIS said in a statement on Friday it "does not tolerate and takes a serious view of any financial impropriety" at mosques.
"There are policies and procedures in place to ensure good governance in the mosques, and MUIS continuously reviews these measures to meet national regulatory standards and benchmarks," said the council.
"These policies and procedures are necessary to uphold the community’s trust of our religious institutions."
MUIS added it has conducted refresher training on the mosque financial regulations for mosque staff and members of the mosque management boards over the past few years, and has had "regular independent audits" on all mosques to ensure compliance with the regulations.
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/new...in-mosque-social-development-officer-12999008
