Two men, aged 29 and 43, were charged in court today for separate cases of cheating and/or forgery offences involving the COVID-19 Support Grant (“CSG”) and the Temporary Relief Fund (“TRF”). Both were launched to provide financial support to Singaporeans affected by the economic impact of COVID-19, and are administered by the Ministry of Social and Family Development (“MSF”).
In the first case, the 29-year-old man is charged for cheating MSF into disbursing CSG and TRF grants by falsely declaring in his applications that he had lost his job due to COVID-19. He also allegedly submitted a forged retrenchment letter and provided additional false representations to MSF to support the false declaration in his CSG application. MSF had consequently approved the TRF application and disbursed a $500 payout. The CSG application was not approved.
In the second case, the 43-year-old man is charged for forging two retrenchment letters and submitting them to MSF to falsely support the CSG applications of two other individuals known to him. MSF did not approve these CSG applications.
If convicted, the two men face the following punishment:
- For each charge of cheating under Section 420 of the Penal Code, imprisonment of up to 10 years and a possible fine; and/or
- For each charge of forgery for the purpose of cheating under Section 468 of the Penal Code, imprisonment of up to 10 years and a possible fine.
The Police take a serious view of dishonest conduct pertaining to applications for Government grants. Offenders will be dealt with severely in accordance with the law.
SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE
01 July 2020 @ 12:20 PM