Jail for man who forged signatures in letters on fire safety over NLB renovation works
SINGAPORE: An employee of a project consultant who wanted to "finish the job quicker" used the signature of a professional engineer on documents concerning fire safety requirements without the engineer's permission.
The forged documents that Ma Lai Fatt, 56, submitted were for works at the basement of the National Library Board (NLB) in Bugis.
Ma was sentenced to three months' jail on Tuesday (Jun 17) after he pleaded guilty to two out of three counts of forgery, with the last taken into consideration for his sentencing.
The NLB renovated its building to convert existing space to office use in basement two. The works in 2022 involved the installation of a mobile pod, an enclosed booth for staff use, and wall partitions in another area.
For the works, NLB engaged P&A Link, an interior design company which was also a renovation contractor.
P&A then engaged Marchitects as a project consultant for the renovation works. Ma was an employee of Marchitects.
Ma was responsible for liaising with principal engineers, who were qualified to give certification for compliance with fire safety regulations.
The regulations concerned the installation of sprinklers that covered the mobile pod, and a public announcement system in the area with the new wall partitions.
For the mobile pod, P&A felt that it would not be necessary to install sprinklers within the pod, as the existing sprinklers on the ceiling above would cover the pod in the event of a fire.
P&A could apply for a waiver for the requirement to install sprinklers from the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF), but it needed the endorsement of a principal engineer.
P&A then asked Marchitects to obtain endorsement from a principal engineer.
Around Oct 30, 2021, Ma created a letter and affixed the signature of a principal engineer, Mr Chen Kum Seng, on it without Mr Chen's authorisation.
Ma had extracted Mr Chen's signature from previous documents out of his own convenience, and from a desire to "finish the job quicker", the prosecution said.
Unaware of the forgery, P&A submitted the letter to NLB on Nov 1, 2021.
Similarly for the wall partitions, P&A felt that no modification of the existing public announcement system was needed.
P&A was required to submit an undertaking by a principal engineer to SCDF to show that the system would not be impacted by the installation of the new wall partitions.
P&A approached Marchitects to obtain an undertaking from a principal engineer.
Around Mar 4, 2022, Ma created an undertaking letter to state that the addition of the partitions within the space did not affect the sound volume of the public announcement system.
He again attached Mr Chen's electronic signature on the letter without his permission.
This letter was submitted to NLB on Apr 14, 2022.
A sound test on Jul 13, 2022 showed that certain areas within the new partitioned space failed to meet the minimum volume requirements required by the SCDF.
In late June 2022, while reviewing two electronic letters from P&A, an NLB officer noticed that the mobile number stated on two documents did not belong to the companies involved, or to Mr Chen.
The officer also found that Mr Chen's signatures could be moved around, and the content of the letters could be modified.
NLB sought Mr Chen's verification and the principal engineer confirmed he did not issue the letters. NLB then lodged a police report.
While there was no monetary loss arising from Ma's offences, NLB had to delay its opening to remedy the effects of Ma's actions.
The prosecution asked for Ma to be jailed for at least three months.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Wong Shiau Yin said a jail term was warranted due to the seriousness of the mischief, which occurred on multiple occasions.
Ms Wong highlighted that the forgery concerned public safety issues.
"Had the forgery not been detected and remedied in time, the existing public announcement system would pose a real risk to NLB staff in the event of a fire as it would not have been loud enough to inform NLB staff about potential emergencies," Ms Wong said.
A defence lawyer from Exodus Law Corporation reiterated that Ma had not gained financially, nor caused any monetary loss.
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