4 months’ jail for woman who tried to dupe Iras to get grants under Job Support Scheme
The human resources manager of a debt collection firm tried but failed to dupe the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (Iras) into disbursing over $8,500 in grants under a government-related initiative.
Wong Lai Kook’s case involved the Job Support Scheme (JSS) which aimed to provide wage support to employers to help them retain local workers amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
She was working at her then-husband’s business – Double Ace Associates – at the time.
Iras did not disburse the money.
The 48-year-old Malaysian was sentenced to four months’ jail on Monday after she pleaded guilty to three counts of attempting to cheat Iras of more than $2,700 in total.
Six other similar charges relating to the remaining amount were taken into consideration during sentencing.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Ryan Lim said that Double Ace made Central Provident Fund contributions to multiple people between February and April 2020 – described in court documents as the “relevant period”.
However, two of them were not working for the firm as they had been ordered to spend time behind bars between June 2019 and July 2020.
Court documents did not disclose details about the pair’s offences.
Despite this, Wong attempted to deceive Iras into believing that the incarcerated men had performed work for Double Ace during the relevant period.
On or around July 29, 2020, she prepared and submitted to Iras a declaration, falsely stating that the men had done actual work.
In relation to both men, she tried to con Iras into handing out $1,725 in total.
Wong also tried to cheat Iras by using six phantom workers.
DPP Lim told the court that she prepared and submitted a list of local employees that included the phantom workers. She also created false employment letters and payslips.
Among other things, Wong tried to dupe Iras into disbursing $978 for one such non-existent worker.
On Monday, the DPP asked the court to sentence her to between four and six months’ jail, adding: “Government incentive schemes that use public funds are often targets for fraud.
“In recent years, there has been an increase in the abuse of these schemes, which has led to stricter enforcement and longer approval processes. These offences are serious and must be dealt with harshly because they harm the public good and undermine good governance.”
Defence lawyer Cory Wong from Invictus Law Corporation, however, pleaded for his client to be given not more than 11 to 12 weeks’ jail.
He said: “As an indication of her genuine remorse, Ms Wong had been cooperative with the authorities and has hereby pleaded guilty.”
Pleading for the court’s compassion, the lawyer also said his client is not in the best of health and had been hospitalised earlier in 2023 over health problems including a stroke that lasted a few minutes.
Wong’s bail was set at $15,000 on Monday. She is expected to surrender herself at the State Courts on Nov 24 to begin serving her sentence.
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