Fake certificate used to cheat MSF | The New Paper
Singapore

Fake certificate used to cheat MSF

This article is more than 12 months old

An unemployed man forged a doctor's signature on a document to certify he was "permanently unfit for work" so as to get long-term financial aid.

Liu Tianfu admitted to forging a Medical Certification of Work Status by fraudulently signing the certificate to cheat the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF).

Liu forged the signature of Dr Lee Yu Wei in February.

The 40-year-old also admitted to a second charge of causing alarm to a management executive with Khoo Teck Puat Hospital by sending her an abusive e-mail, telling her to "commit suicide", last October.

Yesterday, Liu was sentenced to seven months and 22 days in jail. The 22-day sentence was for breaching a remission order by the Commissioner of Prisons due to his re-offending.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Tan Weiming said that as a result of the forgery, MSF paid $340 each month to Liu from March to July, and $360 in August. The total amount paid was $2,060.

Had Liu's deception not been discovered, he would have continued to receive $360 a month, the DPP added.

Liu, who has been diagnosed with schizophrenia, could have been jailed for up to 10 years and fined for forgery.

COURT & CRIME