Ex-director of childcare chain colluded with parents to misuse S$133,000 from Child Development Accounts

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SINGAPORE: Over almost four years, a director in charge of 11 childcare centres colluded with the parents of 34 children to make more than S$133,000 in unauthorised withdrawals from their kids\u0027 Child Development Accounts (CDAs). Former Sweetlands Childcare director Chan Chew Shia, 58, was fined S$90,000 fo

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SINGAPORE: Over almost four years, a director in charge of 11 childcare centres colluded with the parents of 34 children to make more than S$133,000 in unauthorised withdrawals from their kids' Child Development Accounts .

Sometime in 2011, Chan came up with a matching scheme to extend loans to parents who owed outstanding school fees or other childcare expenses to Sweetlands Childcare.She did this by withdrawing funds from the childcare centres' bank accounts via cash cheques, and depositing them into the CDA accounts. The amount deposited depended on the outstanding fees the family owed the childcare centre.

In total, S$133,674 was deducted from 34 children's CDAs across seven childcare centres between August 2011 and March 2015 for the purpose of loan repayment.Initially, Chan spoke to an MSF customer service employee over the phone on Sep 7, 2010 and was"erroneously advised that the matching scheme was permissible", the prosecutor said.

MSF sent Chan a letter on Jul 29, 2015, stating that unauthorised deductions were made from the CDAs of various children and were in breach of regulations.The court heard that this was the first such prosecution of its kind, and the offences are fine-only offences.Deputy Public Prosecutor Cheng Yuxi asked for a fine of S$90,000, saying Chan abused a Government scheme for her own benefit, compromising the structure of the CDA and its purposes.

The offences also caused public disquiet, with then-Nee Soon GRC MP Lee Bee Wah saying the incident caused"a lot of anxiety among the young parents" in her constituency.

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