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Ex-social worker jailed 8 months for taking more than S$50,000 from nursing home residents

SINGAPORE — A medical social worker not only took money from two residents of a nursing home, she cashed seven cheques issued by the Central Provident Fund (CPF) Board to seven other residents under the Silver Support Scheme.

Joney Song Siang Siang, 38, pocketed a total of S$51.560 from residents of a nursing home, the court heard.

Joney Song Siang Siang, 38, pocketed a total of S$51.560 from residents of a nursing home, the court heard.

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SINGAPORE — A medical social worker not only took money from two residents of a nursing home, she cashed seven cheques issued by the Central Provident Fund (CPF) Board to seven other residents under the Silver Support Scheme.

Joney Song Siang Siang abused her former position to pocket S$51,560 in total in 2017 — mostly to repay her debts to loan sharks. Her two victims were aged 77 and 80.

On Tuesday (Sept 24), the 38-year-old was sentenced to eight months’ jail for her actions. She had pleaded guilty to a fresh charge of criminal breach of trust involving the cheques, after admitting to two such charges in May.

In mitigation, she told the court that she would not do it again. “I know I was wrong. I just want to plead for leniency,” she added.

District Judge Kessler Soh replied: “What you did after you started working was, of course, very wrong, and I accept that you have acknowledged this on your part. I’m happy to know you have taken the effort to make full restitution, but you have to serve prison for what you’ve done.”

“It is my hope that you come out of this, that you learn and you be honest from now on,” he added.

WHAT SHE DID

The court previously heard that Song worked at Grace Lodge Nursing Home in Sengkang from June 1 to Aug 11, 2017. She resigned from her position five months before her offences came to light.

As part of her job there, she was entrusted with her two victims’ valuables, including their ATM cards. She persuaded the elders to activate their ATM cards, surreptitiously noting their personal identification numbers when helping them to do so.

On several occasions in July 2017, she took the bank cards, then either withdrew or transferred money from their bank accounts to her own or other individuals’ accounts at numerous ATMs around Singapore.

The other people she transferred money to were also debtors of unlicensed moneylenders from whom she had taken various loans.

She discarded the bank cards after siphoning S$47,360,13 in total from the two men.

In January last year, the employee who took over her position checked the victims’ bank accounts and noticed the suspicious activity.

The court also heard that after Song pleaded guilty in May, another medical social worker at the home made a police report on June 19, saying that someone had cashed cheques issued to some of its residents by the CPF Board. However, the residents did not receive any money.

The home had discovered what Song did during an audit in September last year.

Investigations revealed that as part of her job, Song opened mail and filed the Silver Support Scheme cheques into the residents’ case files.

In July 2017, she was entrusted with seven such cheques of S$600 each. She prepared letters of authorisation and indemnity forms, and got the home director’s approval to cash the cheques on the seniors’ behalf in their absence.

She was required to give the money to the home’s finance department and file the authorisation letter into the residents’ case files as well, but she did not do so.

For each count of criminal breach of trust, Song could have been jailed up to seven years and fined.

Related topics

medical social worker nursing home breach of trust money jail court crime

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