Nursing home employee who siphoned residents' savings, cashed CPF cheques gets 8 months' jail
SINGAPORE — A medical social worker who siphoned two elderly residents’ savings and cashed in Central Provident Fund (CPF) cheques belonging to seven others was sentenced to eight months’ jail on Tuesday (24 September).
Singaporean Joney Song Siang Siang, 38, stole $47,360.13 from two residents and cashed in $4,200 worth of CPF cheques in July 2017.
Song pleaded guilty to two counts of criminal breach of trust at the State Courts on 31 May. However her sentencing was adjourned when she was later slapped with a fresh charge of criminal breach of trust related to the seven cheques, which were issued by the CPF under the Silver Support Scheme.
Stole residents’ ATM cards
Song worked at a Compassvale nursing home from 1 June to 11 August 2017. As part of her duties, she was entrusted helping residents take care of their valuables, including their ATM cards.
While helping the two patients, aged 80 and 77, Song persuaded them to activate their ATM cards. She noted down their Personal Identification Numbers as they were doing so.
Song then used the ATM cards on several occasions in July 2017 to either withdraw money from their accounts or transfer funds into her own bank account. In doing so she stole $6,672 from the 80-year-old man and $40,688.13 from the 77-year-old man before discarding their ATM cards. The stolen money was then used to repay her debts to unlicensed moneylenders.
The offences were discovered in January last year when a social worker who replaced Song checked the victims' bank account statements and noticed the suspicious withdrawals. A police report was lodged on 25 January.
Cashed residents’ CPF cheques
Also in July 2017, Song was entrusted with seven cheques of $600 each belonging to the residents.
Song was meant to accompany the home’s residents to the bank to help them cash their CPF cheques. If the residents could not make it to the bank, she would have to prepare an authorisation letter and indemnity form, obtain the approval of the home’s director and then cash the cheque on the resident’s behalf.
While she was required to hand the money over to the home’s finance department and file the necessary paperwork, Song kept the cash for herself instead. To conceal her dishonesty, Song did not do the paperwork required.
The home uncovered Song’s actions during an audit in September last year.
On 19 June this year, one of the medical social workers at the home lodged a police report stating that cheques issued to some residents had been cashed but the residents had not received their money.
Song has since made full restitution of the misappropriated amounts.
Addressing the court, she asked for a lighter sentence and leniency.
In passing Song’s sentence District Judge Kessler Soh said, “What you did after you started woking was of course very wrong and I accept that you have acknowledged that it was wrong on your part to have taken the monies.
“I’m happy to know that you have taken effort to make full restitution.”
Soh said he hoped that Song would be honest after being released from jail.
For criminal breach of trust, Song could have been jailed up to seven years, fined, or both, on each count.
Related story:
Social worker stole more than $47,000 from two elderly patients under her charge
