A Singapore Civil Defense Force (SCDF) officer and his wife were charged on Thursday, October 16, for cheating the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and SCDF of over S$130,000 (US$100,300).
The Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) said in a press release that Muhammad Zahid Rosli, 41, was an SCDF officer posted to the Civil Defense Academy at the time of the offences.
His wife, 38-year-old Nuraifa Ahmad, was the director of Clutch Esports and the only owner of Grundy Wellness Network.
Nuraifa faces 19 charges in all, while Zahid faces 28.
Zahid is accused of defrauding the SCDF of roughly S$52,000 between 2017 and 2023 by "dishonestly concealing his personal interest" in Grundy and Clutch when he submitted quotes from both businesses for various paintball and esports events on separate occasions.
According to the allegations, his wife purposefully helped him defraud the SCDF by uploading the companies' invoices to the Government Electronic Business portal. This was done so that the companies could get paid for planning the events.
In addition, Nuraifa is charged with assisting her husband in defrauding SCDF and MHA of approximately S$27,000 on March 21, 2022, by incorporating Clutch and consenting to serve as its director.
This was purportedly done to hide Zahid's personal stake in the business when he submitted quotations.
"This was done to induce the SCDF and the MHA to approve Clutch's quotations on multiple occasions," CPIB said.
When Zahid submitted quotes for events between 2018 and 2023, he allegedly dishonestly concealed his interest in those companies, defrauding MHA of approximately S$80,000.
He is also charged with dishonestly hiding his personal interest in Clutch when he submitted a quote for an esports event in December 2023 in an attempt to defraud MHA of roughly S$37,000.
Additionally, it is alleged that on August 20, 2021, and November 30, 2022, Nuraifa purposefully assisted Zahid in defrauding MHA of approximately S$33,400 by signing the Invitation to Quote for two esports events in her capacity as Grundy's program director.
According to CPIB, this was done to hide her husband's personal stake in the business during the approval process and persuade MHA to accept the quotes from both businesses on the two different occasions.
In court, the two stated that they would enter a guilty plea and forego seeking legal representation. They were scheduled to enter a guilty plea in November.
A cheating conviction carries a maximum 10-year jail sentence and a fine.
The CPIB further stated that it investigates all reports and complaints pertaining to corruption, including those that are anonymous.
