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Couple admit to cheating Spring S’pore of S$50,000

SINGAPORE — He had picked out small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to target, and set out to create fake business development voucher accounts under their names.

SINGAPORE — He had picked out small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to target, and set out to create fake business development voucher accounts under their names.

Soh Hua Xiang, a former Spring Singapore employee, then doctored invoices from solutions provider companies, and submitted them via the enterprise development agency’s website.

The 30-year-old did so in collusion with his lover, I Shu Hui, who was a Spring employee at the time they carried out their plan, and was able to approve the disbursement of funds.

On Tuesday (May 23), the couple admitted to cheating the statutory board of around S$50,000.

The prosecution is proceeding with 21 out of 201 cheating and forgery charges that Soh is facing, as well as 20 of the 196 cheating and forgery charges that I is facing.

The court heard that some time around August 2015, both Soh and I had conspired to use the names of several SMEs to apply for Innovation and Capability Vouchers (ICV) on the ICV portal, which is found on Spring Singapore website. The applications were for the purchases of Point-of-Sales (POS) systems.

Under the ICV scheme, which is administered by Spring, SMEs can apply for a S$5,000 voucher, up to a maximum of eight, to develop their business capabilities in areas such as productivity, innovation and human resource.

Under the scheme, SMEs must first submit an application and a quotation via the ICV portal. Then, with Spring’s approval, the SME buys the solution, and submits proof of payment on the portal. Spring will then assess and approve the claims, before the monies are disbursed.

The court heard that Soh, who was a Spring employee from 2011 to 2015, had targeted mini-marts, given that the POS system was most relevant to them. He had also forged quotations for POS systems from four companies, without their knowledge.

To support his applications, Soh falsified invoices and receipts supposedly issued by these four solutions providers, and uploaded them on the ICV portal.

Soh also used a joint account he had set up with another friend, Edison Tan, to receive the funds disbursed.

Soh then submitted forged Giro authorisation forms to claim reimbursements from Spring. I, who was then working as Spring’s finance manager, would later approve the disbursements via Giro.

The court heard on Tuesday (May 23) that Soh knew the ICV system very well, as he was part of the Spring team which designed the ICV workflow.

Arguing for a “deterrent” sentence for the couple, Deputy Public Prosecutor Magdelene Huang said the duo had “cheated government funds”, and the amount involved was high.

She added that I had “abused the trust that (Spring) had on her”, while Soh had “taken advantage of the knowledge of the ICV system” to cheat.

The DPP called for a sentence of at least 18 months for Soh, and at least 15 months for I.

In his mitigation plea, defence counsel Che Wei Chin, who represents the couple, argued for a lighter sentence of between eight to 10 months for Soh, and between six to nine months for I.

He said Soh was “motivated by frustration” and not a sense of greed, and had committed the offences to highlight the ICV system’s flaws.

The couple will return to court on June 6 for sentencing. For cheating, they could face up to 10 years’ jail for each charge.

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