Old Man’s Big Stunt: CPF Yielding Six Figures for a Tale That Wasn’t a Tale
Imagine paying a bank 86,000 bucks just to keep your grandma’s latte records accurate. That’s basically what happened to Tan Kah Poh, a 71‑year‑old from Singapore who, together with his wife, Toh Poh Choo (age 70), pulled a scheme that tricked the Central Provident Fund (CPF) Board into thinking they were a family business earning a modest $1,000 a month.
How the Scam Got Started
Back in 2008, Tan thought, “If my wife can get some government perks, maybe we’ll finally make ends meet!” So he started sending fake wage slips from International Times—a once‑busy publisher of newspapers, magazines, and books that had been quiet since 2000—to the CPF Board. He claimed Toh was a salaried employee earning $1,000 each month. Even though Truth was that their only source of income was occasional Mandarin lessons.
High‑Tech Tactics of the 2000s
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Workfare Income Supplement (WIS) – Introduced in 2007, it’s a financial safety net for low‑earning Singaporeans over 35. It tops up CPF savings and grants cash if you’re earning less than $2,000.
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Special Employment Credit (SEC) – Designed for employers to boost hiring of Singaporeans aged 50+. Tan, though, got $18,150 under this scheme.
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Temporary Employment Credit (TEC) – Created in 2014 to cushion employees amid rising business costs. The dummy company grabbed $300 here.
Between September 2008 and October 2009, the faff‑wedged wife got a sweet $2,101 from the CPF Board. By 2019, that number ballooned to $35,259 in cash and $32,596 in CPF contributions for the couple. All because Tan knowingly snuck in the wrong figures.
“The need for deterrence is to safeguard national resources,” the Deputy Public Prosecutor, Ng Jean Ting, reminded the court. “You can’t break the system once, because it may lead to more being broken.”
Breaking the Law, Getting the Sentence
In a court that smelled like a mixture of burnt coffee and regret, the judge delivered a firm verdict: 18 weeks of jail time for Tan as a result of two counts of CPF cheating (the last two charges being considered in sentencing as well).
The labor board, CPF Board, and the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore first noticed the oddity after a tax audit hit the little company. The CPF Board promptly investigated, reported to the police, and eventually recovered every single peso that had slipped through the cracks.
What Tan’s Time in Prison Will Look Like
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He begins serving the sentence on February 16.
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He’ll have 18 to 22 weeks behind bars, which is a longer time to think about how he could’ve used those coins for real things.
So if you think you’re going to swipe a government scheme a couple of times, think twice. That’s a hefty lesson in Singapore’s fight against fraud—because even old men can’t escape the tidy net of the CPF Board.
Plus, a little reminder from the Ministry of Manpower (MOM):
“MOM and the CPF Board will keep working with other agencies to keep data sound! If you notice suspicious info provided by the public, we’ll report it to the Singapore Police for a deeper dive.”
