SINGAPORE — When he was chairman of Masjid Darussalam’s management board, he instructed volunteers and caretakers to place donation chests and containers in his office after prayer sessions for “safekeeping”.

But for nearly seven years, Ab Mutalif Hashim helped himself to more than S$370,000 of the funds.

It is believed to be one of the largest amounts misappropriated from a mosque.

On Tuesday (March 12), Ab Mutalif, 58, pleaded guilty to six counts of criminal breach of trust.

Eight similar offences will be taken into consideration during sentencing on April 15.

Ab Mutalif was chairman of the mosque's management board between 2003 and August 2010, and continued as voluntary chairman for another two-and-a-half years.

He concurrently held positions at two registered charities — Just Parenting Association, as well as the Association for Devoted and Active Family Men.

He began stealing money three years after becoming chairman of the mosque's management board.

Masjid Darussalam — located along Commonwealth Avenue West near Clementi — collected donations from its congregants using donation chests placed in the mosque, as well as donation containers during Friday prayer sessions.

They were labelled in Malay as “Friday collections” and “Welfare collections”.

Between Jan 1, 2006 and March 31, 2013, Ab Mutalif stole S$371,891 from the chests and containers, Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Kenneth Chin said.

He deposited most of the money into various bank accounts — his personal bank account, the bank account of Just Parenting Association, as well as the account of someone called Aiffah Ahmad.

More than S$160,000 went into Ms Aiffah’s account, to which Ab Mutalif had access. Court documents did not state the relationship between the pair, but she is not his wife.

He told Ms Aiffah that the money deposited into her account came from his “shares”.

Between August 2010 and August 2011, Ab Mutalif drew a monthly salary of S$7,000 as the executive director of Just Parenting Association, court documents stated.

He used the money placed in his personal account for expenses such as credit card bills, medical bills and travelling.

The rest of the money was used for the expenses of both charities.

Ab Mutalif’s actions were without the knowledge and authorisation of the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (Muis) or the mosque’s management board.

DPP Chin said: “No approval from Muis was sought to collect monies on behalf of (the registered charities). The usage of the misappropriated monies was not recorded in the (management board’s) minutes of meeting and was done without the knowledge and authorisation of Muis and the mosque’s (management board).” 

After he took the money, Ab Mutalif instructed the volunteers and caretakers to count the remainder of the cash, which was then recorded in the mosque’s accounting system and deposited into the mosque’s bank account.

In a slight twist to the case, the court heard that between October 2011 and February 2012, a sole proprietorship called Middle Way Services, registered in the name of Ab Mutalif’s wife, donated five cheques amounting to S$130,848 for the mosque’s toilet renovation. It is not known whether Ab Mutalif had a hand in the donation.

Muis sounded the alarm in July 2013, after it discovered that funds collected by the mosque rose “significantly” after he stepped down. From about S$10,000 to S$19,000 a month when he was chairman, the figure rose to about S$40,000 to S$60,000.

In December 2013, the police seized Ab Mutalif’s personal bank account, which had a balance of around S$97,000.

For criminal breach of trust committed after 2008, Ab Mutalif faces up to seven years in jail and a fine for each charge.

That was the year changes were made to the Penal Code, which included higher penalties for the offence.

For criminal breach of trust committed before 2008, he could be jailed up to three years and fined for each charge.

Muis said in a media statement on Tuesday that it “does not tolerate any financial impropriety at our mosques”.

It has policies and procedures in place to ensure good governance in mosques, and has conducted refresher training for staff and management board members of mosques in recent years.

Muis also conducts regular independent audits on all mosques to ensure compliance with the financial regulations.

“This case should not tarnish the good name and the invaluable contributions of mosque leaders, volunteers and staff, who have been serving their community and congregation selflessly and (responsibly) through the years,” the council added.