SINGAPORE — The former director of the now-defunct Faith Educare childcare centres was charged in court on Wednesday (March 17) with cheating the Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA) into giving grants for children who were not enrolled in the school at the time.

Josephine Tan Poh Choo, 53, was charged alongside two of her former employees, 53-year-old Arulnandam Rajeswary and 42-year-old Fatimah Bivee Mohd Shariff. 

Tan and Arulnandam each received eight counts of cheating by conspiring with each other to cheat ECDA into disbursing basic subsidy grants for children who were not attending the childcare centres, while Fatimah was given four such charges.

The three women worked at Faith Educare Centres, which had outlets in Sengkang and Punggol at the time of the offences. 

ECDA administers the Child Care Subsidies Scheme, which helps defray preschool expenses for Singaporean children through the payment of subsidies to ECDA-licensed childcare centres in Singapore.

However, the women allegedly submitted 16 false claims confirming the attendance of eight children at the childcare centres between January 2016 and August 2016, resulting in payouts of S$4,800.

The children, who were listed under names such as Jayden, Janel, Kyzer and Gwenice, did not attend Faith Educare Centre at all or had not yet started their enrolment.

The three women will return to court next month. If convicted of cheating, they face up to 10 years' jail and a fine for each charge.

The police said in an earlier statement on the case that they take a serious view against anyone involved in dishonest or fraudulent conduct pertaining to applications for government grants. CNA

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