Woman who duped then-WDA of over $160,000 in fake training claims jailed
SINGAPORE — A woman was jailed 10 months on Monday (20 January) for her role in cheating the then Singapore Workforce Development Agency (WDA) of over $160,000.
Lun Yeow Siang, 42, was convicted on 20 counts of instigating forgery for the purposes of cheating, said the police in a news release. Another 90 similar charges were taken into consideration for her sentencing.
According to court documents, Lun had been working for the Adonis Group of companies as its assistant general manager between April 2011 and July 2013. During this time she was placed in charge of training.
One of the companies under Adonis Group was Adonis International, which was an Approved Training Organisation authorised to provide Workforce Skills Qualifications (WSQ) courses.
Between 2021 and June 2013, Lun enlisted the help of a fellow Adonis employee – administrator Tan Zhenni – to deceive the WDA by claiming that Adonis Group employees had attended WSQ courses held by Adonis International, which made the company eligible for WDA subsidies.
To back up these fraudulent claims, false course attendance records and assessment plans were created and submitted to the WDA. Under Lun’s instructions, Tan would dishonestly sign on behalf of purported students.
The fraudulent claims amounted to $162,379.20, of which full restitution has been made by Adonis Group. Lun was also found to have not gained any direct financial benefit from the forgery and fraudulent claims.
Tan has been charged with forgery for the purposes of cheating and court proceedings in that case are ongoing.
In mitigation, Lun’s lawyers – Josephus Tan and Cory Wong – submitted that their client had been cooperative with the authorities from the outset, which indicated her genuine remorse.
Asking for no more than 10 months’ jail, they noted that Lun was also prepared to commence her jail term right away, despite Chinese New Year being around the corner.
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