Restaurant boss jailed 8 weeks for cheating e2i of $25,000
A restaurateur was yesterday jailed for eight weeks for cheating, in a case involving more than $25,000 in public funds.
Wang Fengli, 45, a Chinese national, was the sole proprietor of Ju Xin Yuan, which operates the Ji Pin Xiang Dong Bei Cai Guan restaurant in Jurong East.
He pleaded guilty to one charge of cheating yesterday.
He had applied for a grant from the Employment and Employability Institute (e2i) under the Inclusive Growth Programme.
Under the scheme, small businesses can get grants to cover up to 50 per cent of costs for projects that purchase IT equipment and technology to raise productivity, leading to increased wages for the low-wage employees.
The grants are from a fund set up by Spring Singapore, a statutory board under the Ministry of Trade and Industry.
In November 2014, Wang submitted a project proposal to e2i for the purchase of a mobile ordering and inventory management system, with an approximate cost of $80,000.
INCREASED
In the proposal, Wang claimed that the basic salary for 15 full-time low-wage workers employed by the company would be increased as a result.
But the company had only 12 such workers.
In February 2015, Wang again submitted false claims to e2i, this time a printout of the Central Provident Fund contributions by the company stating it had increased the salaries of 15 such workers.
Wang submitted these claims despite knowing they were false, in an attempt to deceive e2i.
In all, e2i released $25,120 to the company.
Yesterday, Deputy Public Prosecutor Chong Yonghui urged the court to jail Wang for eight weeks.
He also said Wang did not have any prior criminal record, and that he has returned the entire grant.
It was not revealed in court how he was caught.
For cheating, Wang could have been jailed for up to three years, or fined, or both.
Get The New Paper on your phone with the free TNP app. Download from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store now
