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.
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This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.
