Man Manages To Forge Over 460 Grab Receipts to Claim Over $16,400 From His Company

By
Champa Ha
-

Sometimes you have to wonder at the audacity of some of the colleagues who work with you.

Colleagues of Muhammad Fariz Shaik Sha Marican, 33, were probably feeling that when they found out that he had, on more than 460 occasions, forged Grab receipts and sent them over to his company, which in turn disbursed money over to him, totalling over $16,400.

To add to the arrogant disregard of the rules, Fariz, 33, also made multiple false medical certificates and an electronic letter supposedly published from the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF), leading to the Ministry of Health (MOH) to excuse him from reporting for work as temporary staff.

Fariz pled guilty to two forgery charges in court on 12 Nov with two other similar charges taken into consideration during sentencing.

What Happened?

Fariz had been employed by recruitment firm Persolkelly (PSK), which worked with MOH to provide staff, and PSK had deployed Fariz to work as temporary staff to support the ministry’s COVID-19 operations.

Around April 2023, MOH wanted to covert Fariz to a staff member and went to check the amount of annuals leave days left, where they had discovered that there had been multiple discrepancies in the timesheets and transport claims submitted by him to MOH and to PSK.

The figures in the receipts submitted to PSK were higher than that submitted to MOH.

Police investigations later revealed that Fariz had, on 228 occasions between July 2022 and April 2023, forged Grab receipts for rides he claimed to have taken.

This was done by digitally altering the date and time on existing Grab receipts to fake nonexistent rides, and then submitted to PSK, causing the firm to disburse a total of $9,526.60 to him.

Fariz had also made similar forgeries between December 2021 and June 2022, on 234 occasions. The company reimbursed him with over $6,900.

On other occasions, Fariz had also made false timesheets that claimed he had worked overtime, then using the signature of a previous supervisor into the timesheets.

He then submitted the timesheets to PSK, duping the firm into disbursing over $7,700 to him.

What Happened Next?

MOH and PSK had, after finding out about the discrepancies, filed police reports against Fariz.

Fariz, upon finding out about the investigations, confessed to MOH about his crime in May, resigning from his position in June and arrested in July 2023.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Kelly Ng, who was representing the prosecution, sought a jail term of six to eight months for Fariz, as the offences took place over a significant period of 18 months and involved over $24,000 from PSK.

“Each time the accused forged a receipt or timesheet, he had to put in the deliberate effort of altering it digitally or filling it up with extra days or hours, and each time he did this, he had the opportunity to stop his offending. Instead, he did not do so,” said the prosecutor.

Derek Tan, who was representing Fariz, asked for leniency, claiming that his client was a first-time offender and has made full restitution to PSK.

When asked by District Judge Christopher Goh what the accused had done with the money, Tan claimed that Fariz had not spent the money on personal items and did not commit the acts for financial gain.

This was disputed by Judge Goh, who noted that the offences were committed for financial gain,  even if Fariz had not spent the money.

Judge Goh asked for more time to deliberate on his decision and adjourned for the day.

Sentencing will resume on 28 Nov.

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Champa Ha