Jail for woman who forged medical documents in bid to quickly withdraw her CPF funds, Singapore News
Although the CPF Board (CPFB) saw through the ruse and did not disburse any funds to her, the prosecution said Nasuha Zakaria's crime constituted serious mischief.
On Aug 12, the 34-year-old was sentenced to five months and 10 weeks' jail after she pleaded guilty to one forgery charge and two unrelated charges of theft.
Four other charges of theft, forgery and fraudulently possessing property were taken into consideration during sentencing.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Nivethaa Ravintharan said the scheme Nasuha tried to exploit was intended for individuals with a reduced life expectancy, those who are permanently unfit for work or those lacking mental capacity.
The prosecutor added: "CPF is a government body and this is a situation where the public confidence is at stake."
The court heard that in 2021, the CPFB received two medical certification forms from Nasuha.
The forms were purportedly issued by doctors from the Singapore General Hospital and certified that Nasuha suffered from a respiratory illness.
When verifying the authenticity of these documents, CPFB discovered the signatures on the doctor's columns did not seem legitimate.
CPFB wrote to SGH, which replied that none of their doctors had signed on the two documents.
It was then that Nasuha admitted she had signed the documents herself as she wanted to quickly withdraw funds from her CPF account.
According to CPF's website, successful applicants under the scheme may withdraw $5,000 or more.
DPP Nivethaa said: "While there was no monetary loss on the part of CPF, such attempts should be strongly deterred as it endangers CPF's primary interest in ensuring the long-term financial security of individuals."
Separately, Nasuha committed two theft offences in January.
On Jan 7, she entered an unlocked office in a commercial building in Changi Road when its staff had left for lunch and stole two laptops and an iPad amounting to about $4,500.
Using the "Find my iPhone" app, a staff member found that one of the items was at Nasuha's residential address. She was subsequently arrested.
But she struck again on Jan 25, this time stealing a mobile phone and $800 cash from a store in Lorong 11 Geylang when the store owner was not at the counter.
The owner saw the taxi she fled in and reported it to the police. She was arrested but the stolen items were not recovered.
The court heard that Nasuha was previously fined for theft and jailed for abetment of cheating.
Victoria Tay from the Public Defender's Office said her client, who is married with a daughter, has plans to continue her studies and find proper employment moving forward.
"This is going to be the end of her criminal behaviour. She is committed to changing her ways," said Tay.
[[nid:719899]]
This article was first published in The Straits Times . Permission required for reproduction.
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Independent Singapore
a day ago
- Independent Singapore
5 months, 10 weeks jail for 34 yo woman who faked documents to withdraw from CPF account
SINGAPORE: A woman who handed in documents with a forged doctor's signature as well as other falsehoods in order to withdraw money from her Central Provident Fund (CPF) account received a sentence of five months and 10 weeks of jail time earlier this week. Thirty-four-year-old Nasuha Zakaria, who had previously claimed in the documents she submitted to the authorities that she was suffering from a respiratory illness, pleaded guilty on Tuesday (Aug 12) to one count of forgery and two counts of theft. She faced a total of seven charges in all. The other charges were taken into consideration by the judge for her sentencing. In January 2021, Nasuha submitted two documents to the CPF Board, applying under a scheme that would have allowed her to withdraw $5,000 or even more. The first was supposedly issued by the Singapore General Hospital. It was a memo that said she had a respiratory disease. The second was also a memo that purportedly came from another doctor from the hospital, certifying that she was suffering from the disease. Nasuha had handed in these documents as proof that she needed money for medical reasons, as she hoped to withdraw money from her CPF account, according to a report in Lianhe Zaobao. When her documents were being verified, irregularities were found by the CPF Board, specifically in the part that contained the doctor's signature. When the staff of the CPF Board reached out to Singapore General Hospital to confirm the authenticity of the documents, they were told by the hospital that no doctor had signed them. Upon being questioned, Nasuha admitted to having forged the signatures on the documents, as she wanted to expedite the process to hasten the withdrawal from her CPF account. It was noted by the prosecution that while no money had been stolen from the CPF Board, actions such as those committed by Zakaria threatened its responsibility to safeguard members' long-term financial security, and therefore recommended a strong deterrent. 'CPF is a government body and this is a situation where the public confidence is at stake,' said Deputy Public Prosecutor Nivethaa Ravintharan. Other news reports pointed out that Nasuha committed theft twice in January. In the first incident, she entered an unlocked office and stole an iPad and two laptops, with a total value of S$4,500. One of the stolen items was later found through an iPhone tracking app, which indicated that it could be found at Nasuha's home address. In the second incident, she took advantage of a store in Lorong 11 Geylang, taking $800 cash and a mobile phone from a counter when it was unattended. She was also previously penalised for another theft and abetment of cheating. /TISG Read also: SCAM check: All calls from CPF Board now come from only one number: 6227 1188
AsiaOne
3 days ago
- AsiaOne
Jail for woman who forged medical documents in bid to quickly withdraw her CPF funds, Singapore News
SINGAPORE — In a ploy to withdraw money from her Central Provident Fund (CPF) account before the permitted age of 55, a woman forged two medical documents claiming she had a respiratory illness. Although the CPF Board (CPFB) saw through the ruse and did not disburse any funds to her, the prosecution said Nasuha Zakaria's crime constituted serious mischief. On Aug 12, the 34-year-old was sentenced to five months and 10 weeks' jail after she pleaded guilty to one forgery charge and two unrelated charges of theft. Four other charges of theft, forgery and fraudulently possessing property were taken into consideration during sentencing. Deputy Public Prosecutor Nivethaa Ravintharan said the scheme Nasuha tried to exploit was intended for individuals with a reduced life expectancy, those who are permanently unfit for work or those lacking mental capacity. The prosecutor added: "CPF is a government body and this is a situation where the public confidence is at stake." The court heard that in 2021, the CPFB received two medical certification forms from Nasuha. The forms were purportedly issued by doctors from the Singapore General Hospital and certified that Nasuha suffered from a respiratory illness. When verifying the authenticity of these documents, CPFB discovered the signatures on the doctor's columns did not seem legitimate. CPFB wrote to SGH, which replied that none of their doctors had signed on the two documents. It was then that Nasuha admitted she had signed the documents herself as she wanted to quickly withdraw funds from her CPF account. According to CPF's website, successful applicants under the scheme may withdraw $5,000 or more. DPP Nivethaa said: "While there was no monetary loss on the part of CPF, such attempts should be strongly deterred as it endangers CPF's primary interest in ensuring the long-term financial security of individuals." Separately, Nasuha committed two theft offences in January. On Jan 7, she entered an unlocked office in a commercial building in Changi Road when its staff had left for lunch and stole two laptops and an iPad amounting to about $4,500. Using the "Find my iPhone" app, a staff member found that one of the items was at Nasuha's residential address. She was subsequently arrested. But she struck again on Jan 25, this time stealing a mobile phone and $800 cash from a store in Lorong 11 Geylang when the store owner was not at the counter. The owner saw the taxi she fled in and reported it to the police. She was arrested but the stolen items were not recovered. The court heard that Nasuha was previously fined for theft and jailed for abetment of cheating. Victoria Tay from the Public Defender's Office said her client, who is married with a daughter, has plans to continue her studies and find proper employment moving forward. "This is going to be the end of her criminal behaviour. She is committed to changing her ways," said Tay. [[nid:719899]] This article was first published in The Straits Times . Permission required for reproduction.
New Paper
3 days ago
- New Paper
Jail for woman, 34, who forged medical documents in bid to quickly withdraw CPF funds
In a ploy to withdraw money from her Central Provident Fund (CPF) account before the permitted age of 55, a woman forged two medical documents claiming she had a respiratory illness. Although the CPF Board (CPFB) saw through the ruse and did not disburse any funds to her, the prosecution said Nasuha Zakaria's crime constituted serious mischief. On Aug 12, the 34-year-old was sentenced to five months and 10 weeks' jail after she pleaded guilty to one forgery charge and two unrelated charges of theft. Four other charges of theft, forgery and fraudulently possessing property were taken into consideration during sentencing. Deputy Public Prosecutor Nivethaa Ravintharan said the scheme Nasuha tried to exploit was intended for individuals with a reduced life expectancy, those who are permanently unfit for work or those lacking mental capacity. The prosecutor added: "CPF is a government body and this is a situation where the public confidence is at stake." The court heard that in 2021, the CPFB received two medical certification forms from Nasuha. The forms were purportedly issued by doctors from the Singapore General Hospital and certified that Nasuha suffered from a respiratory illness. When verifying the authenticity of these documents, CPFB discovered the signatures on the doctor's columns did not seem legitimate. CPFB wrote to SGH, which replied that none of their doctors had signed on the two documents. It was then that Nasuha admitted she had signed the documents herself as she wanted to quickly withdraw funds from her CPF account. According to CPF's website, successful applicants under the scheme may withdraw $5,000 or more. DPP Nivethaa said: "While there was no monetary loss on the part of CPF, such attempts should be strongly deterred as it endangers CPF's primary interest in ensuring the long-term financial security of individuals." Separately, Nasuha committed two theft offences in January. On Jan 7, she entered an unlocked office in a commercial building in Changi Road when its staff had left for lunch and stole two laptops and an iPad amounting to about $4,500. Using the "Find my iPhone" app, a staff member found that one of the items was at Nasuha's residential address. She was subsequently arrested. But she struck again on Jan 25, this time stealing a mobile phone and $800 cash from a store in Lorong 11 Geylang when the store owner was not at the counter. The owner saw the taxi she fled in and reported it to the police. She was arrested but the stolen items were not recovered. The court heard that Nasuha was previously fined for theft and jailed for abetment of cheating. Ms Victoria Tay from the Public Defender's Office said her client, who is married with a daughter, has plans to continue her studies and find proper employment moving forward. "This is going to be the end of her criminal behaviour. She is committed to changing her ways," said Ms Tay.
