SINGAPORE: A social service officer was sentenced to 64 months’ jail on Thursday (Dec 22) for stealing more than S$340,000 in public funds that were meant for the needy.
Chia Kwang Hwee, 33, used the money to pay off his family’s mounting debt and spent the rest on an extravagant lifestyle, splurging on fine dining, airline tickets and purchases from high-end boutiques.
The money was misappropriated over three years, from November 2011 until August 2014, while he was a social service officer, first at the South East Community Development Council and later on with the Social Service Office @ Geylang Serai.
Chia has not made any restitution.
For criminal breach of trust as a public servant, he could have been jailed for up to 20 years and fined."
Not sure what to make of this. The last sentence says it all: he could hv been jailed for up to 20 years. WHY did he not get this given the severity of his crime! Stealing from the poor??
Maybe we r getting too soft with wrongdoers. Nothing wrong with been merciful, kind, generous n just to administer the laws. Yet there r certain kind of vocations that required much, some will say unfair even, higher integrity n honesty besides been able to get things done!
As an x-auditor, NGOs n social welfare organizations r rich picking for crooks as most of those in it r generally generous n kind with no stomach for: nobody would want to cheat!!
The fraud went on for more the 3 years without being detected. It shows poor administration at these ground level.
Are there more such cases? Probably.
Hopefully this is just an exception.
The judges really need be firm n merciless on folks who cheat while in charge of public services. When the laws break the laws, the punishment should corresponding to the crime!
30 mths for the loots is, like they say: grossly inadequate. May he get given more years.
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