SINGAPORE: A man who deceived the former SPRING Singapore into disbursing S$ 85, 000 ( S$ 63, 700 ) through its Innovation and Capability Voucher ( ICV ) scheme was sentenced to 22 months ‘ jail on Wednesday ( Mar 12 ).
Donovan Goh Shen Shu, 36, pleaded guilty to five counts of lying and five of falsifying records for crimes between 2015 and 2016.  , Another 20 similar claims were taken into consideration for his punishment.  ,
Goh, a Singaporean, was the chairman and stockholder of five businesses- IT Works Solutions, IT Works HR Systems, IT Works Accounting Systems, IT Works ERP Systems and IT Works Inventory Systems- absorbed in 2014 to offer numerous IT solutions.  ,
Goh and another producer Dexter Ng Wing Hong made use of the ICV system to acquire funds from SPRING Singapore.
The ICV scheme involved S$ 5, 000 vouchers meant to encourage little- and medium-sized companies to develop their skills in many areas, including in integrated options.  ,
An applicant may submit an application on the ICV online method to get approval from SPRING to buy a remedy.  ,
Upon approval, the person did get a answer and register a claim, including invoices and proof of payment, which was assessed by the ICV control group.  ,
The student was reimbursed when the state was approved.  ,
In 2018, SPRING Singapore was merged with International Enterprise Singapore to shape Business Singapore.
ACCUSED OFFERED CASHBACK
Goh, Ng and a group of salespersons saw the ICV program as a way to make sales and to attract potential customers to purchase options from their businesses.  ,
The two directors instructed several salespersons to recruit individuals to buy solutions from their companies in return for cashback.  ,
This meant that the solution’s cost was inflated so that the applicant could retain a portion of the disbursed funds as cashback before the remaining portion went to Goh’s companies.  ,
Goh and Ng knew that the costs of the solutions on the claims were false as they were inflated. ” They intended to deceive SPRING into believing that the applicants had paid at least S$ 5, 000 for each of the solutions”, said the prosecution.  ,
The accused persons also used falsified receipts to indicate that the applicants had paid for the solutions even though no such payments were made in some cases.  ,
In one arrangement, a salesperson recruited the owner of a moving company to submit an ICV claim to SPRING for S$ 5, 000. The owner was told that he would be paid if he did so.  ,
Around Jun 4, 2015, the owner made a claim of S$ 5, 000 for a purported purchase of a scheduling system. In fact, the sum was inflated so that the owner could claim a cashback of S$ 1, 500.  ,
The remaining sum of S$ 3, 500 went to Goh’s companies.
Goh also abetted the creation of a false entry in an electronic record, in which a receipt was prepared to state that his company had received payment of S$ 5, 000 from the moving company, when no such payment was made.  ,
A SPRING employee lodged a complaint with the police in December 2016.  ,
The prosecution said that substantial harm was caused to SPRING, and that the offences had been planned and premeditated.  , It sought 20 to 24 months ‘ jail for Goh.  ,
Court documents did not state whether Ng has been dealt with.  ,
For cheating, Goh could have been jailed up to 10 years, and fined.  ,
For falsifying a record, Goh could have been jailed up to 10 years, or fined, or both.  ,