An officer from the Social Service Office (SSO) has been accused of embezzling $343,480 in funds that were meant for financial assistance to 42 low-income families. Yesterday, 33-year-old Chia Kwang Hwee was charged with 126 counts of multiple offences. The money he stole from 2011 to 2014 was apparently used for shopping sprees, flights and hotels, as well as to pay off his debts at licensed moneylenders, TODAY reported.
Here’s how he spent some of the money he allegedly misappropriated:
- Louis Vuitton at Marina Bay Sands: $4,365
- Francis Cheong Boutique: $3,500
- Chao Gang Cun Fine Dining: $2,587.50
- Mulberry: $1,930
- Club 21 Men: $1,575
- Christian Dior: $1,148.16
- Jean Yip at Nex: $1,252
- Louis Vuitton at Ion Orchard: $1,100
- Cathay Pacific AIrways: $3,647.89
- Thai Airways: $2,480.10
- W Hotels in Hong Kong: $2,047.29
- China Eastern Airline: $1,992.50
- Silk Air: $1,418
It was in Aug 14, 2014 that the case surfaced after a ComCare beneficiary alerted the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) of his missing financial assistance payment. The management at Geylang Serai SSO investigated and discovered suspicious social assistance transactions, with GIRO payments for 26 clients going into two bank accounts, one of which was Chia’s.
The MSF filed a police report the following day, and Chia was arrested then suspended. After that, MSF got in touch with the 42 families to offer them the assistance they needed. An internal auditor then conducted checks on all the SSOs’ payment records to ensure there were no other occurrences of similar cases. Processes controls at all SSOs were tightened.
Chia has surrendered his passport and is currently out on bail, which was set at $100,000. His case will be heard again on Sept 7.
