Daily Lessons from Life 20 February 2014 - To Jails They Go!!

"Former CPIB assistant director jailed 10 years - CNA 20 Feb 2014

SINGAPORE: Former assistant director of the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB), Edwin Yeo Seow Hiong, has been sentenced to 10 years in jail for misappropriating more than S$1.75 million and committing forgery.
The judge on Thursday noted that only a small fraction of the funds -- S$65,000 -- that were misappropriated had been recovered.

Yeo, who worked at the CPIB for 15 years, had committed the offences between 2009 and 2012.
The 39-year-old had misappropriated the funds for personal expenditures like credit card payments and settling gambling debts.

He had incurred losses of about S$740,000 from gambling at casinos as well as through bets placed with Singapore Pools."

AND

"Former MFA protocol chief jailed 15 months for cheating - CNA 20 Feb 2014

SINGAPORE: A former Ministry of Foreign Affairs' chief of protocol has been sentenced to 15 months' jail for cheating by falsifying claims for the purchase of pineapple tarts and wine.

Lim Cheng Hoe, 61, was convicted of 10 counts of cheating involving the purchase of pineapple tarts and wine amounting to about S$35,000.

Earlier this week, Lim also admitted to 50 counts of cheating totalling some $54,000, which were taken into consideration for sentencing purposes.

Lim had submitted false expense claims between February 2008 and May 2012.

He made claims for more than 10,000 boxes of pineapple tarts when only 2,200 boxes were purchased.
Lim had become acquainted with the shopkeepers selling the pineapple tarts and had asked them for blank receipts which he filled up himself."

Lessons for me are:

1. gambling can RUIN a person's life. This case and many other cases I have read about, including a few that happened to people whom I know well enough personally! Most believed they can handle gambling and can afford to lose some money. Well, most did not manage to be as discipline as they thought they could!;

2. the Chief of Protocol might have gotten too used to the high class lifestyles he manages in his job. Called it job hazards as one begins to want to live the lifestyles of the rich, famous and powerful, especially the materialistic aspects, of it. I am not sure what triggered him to commit this cheating. Suffice to say it was pretty blatant and reckless. Would be interesting for social and behavioural scientists to research what drive such behaviors!;

3. with these 2 sentencing, hopefully the rush of misconducts by our top notch civil service will be spared from discovering more 'rotten apples' in its cart! Whatever it is, if you want to stray and try your luck in Singapore, or anywhere else in the world, the ending is almost always going to be: you can try a million times and you just need to be caught once and you will be ruined!

Worth it?