Singapore Red Cross reports woman for pocketing $90,000

THE Singapore Red Cross Society has revealed that it has made a police report accusing a woman employee of misappropriating about $90,000 since February.

According to a Straits Times report today, discrepancies in finances surfaced last Wednesday during an internal audit.

The report also said that the employee was an administrative assistant with the finance department. She started as a temporary staff in 2009 and was made a permanent staff last December. She was believed to have taken the money over the course of this year.

When she was confronted, the employee admitted guilt and "left the office shortly after", said the report.

The Red Cross Society has been advised by the Comissioner of Charities to stop all fund-raisng activities until internal investigations into a misappropriation of funds have been done and additional safeguards are in place,

A Red Cross spokesman told ST that it has no more fund-raising activities this year but would continue to provide disaster relief.

The relief agency and charity receives donations in response to appeals for relief efforts.

Red Cross secretary-general Christopher Chua issued an open apology to all donors yesterday.

This is the first such incident at the charity since it begun in 1949 as part of the British Red Cross Society.

Comments
Wei Siang: Perhaps this is another case of the NKF saga where employees given the trust failed miserably in the responsibility bestowed upon them. If corporate companies has in place security measured to prevent employees, it is even a greater must where non-profit organisations like Red Cross should have implemented these policies to prevent embezzlement from their own employees.
On top of all these, organisation should also emphasize to key appointment holders that has access to corporate finances the consequences of misappropriating corporate funds.

WeeSoon: Could this be another NKF saga? Just like WeiSiang mention, employees were given the trust, however they choose to misuse this trust for thier own benefits. To me, the Red Cross is always a respectable non profit organization which help many countries when in time of need. Till now it still is, as i choose to believe that the organization is meant to help others. However the employee may not have this mindset therefore i would not blame Red Cross however would blame it on the employees.

Koofang: Another case of employee misappropriating funds? I agree with what Weisiang and Weesoon said. These employees take the trust that their employers gave to them for granted and use it for their own benefits. I think all companies should now start to step up their security to prevent more such cases from happening. From my impression, Red Cross is an organization that provides help to people in need. Isn't it an irony that such acts are happening in the organization? Although the employee may have her own reasons for committing that mistake, we should not forgive such acts. Hence, I urge all the companies and organizations to enforce stricter rules to make sure that every employee take responsibility in what they are assigned to do.

Zeena:

i feel that sure cases should not be categorize into cases such as those of NKF. The employee involve is jus a staff working in red cross unlike that of NKF and Ren Che in which those involve are high fliers of the organization. However this is still a blow to the Singapore community. Kind hearted souls who have donated money into such organization would feel cheated and thus decrease or stop donating funds there. This would cause the organization problem as their funds come mostly from this kind hearted souls. I feel that stricter funds control and policies must be implemented so as to restore the trust of the community towards this organization.


Chrystal:
Do non-profit organisations really exist? People ask for donations everywhere but we really do not know which one can we trust. Donors' trust has been betrayed time over time and which charitable organisation can we really trust? Our hearts soften whenever we see the less fortunate people and we would like to just do a small part to help them. However, do they really get the money we donate? Nobody knows. Therefore, I feel that it is understandable why Singaporeans tend to hesitate whenever they are approached by people asking for donations. Thus, I agree with the rest in saying that stricter laws should be implemented. Perhaps the government should take control over all charitable organisations to ensure that the less fortunate really do benefit from the donations.