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Fraudulent housing withdrawal
offenders will be prosecuted
03/02/09 NST By Ivy Chang
The Employees Provident Fund (EPF) has hauled up 34 members to court for
making fraudulent housing withdrawals.
Todate, three offenders have been fined between RM600 and RM2,000 each, with
one of them facing a possible one-month jail term. The other 31 cases are
still pending before the courts, with the highest number filed in the
Petaling Jaya Magistrate Court and the Kota Baru Magistrate Court.
Head of EPF public relations Nik Affendi Jaafar said the offenders have been
charged under section 59 of the EPF Act 1991 which imposes a maximum
three-year sentence or a RM10,000 fine, or both.
Nik Affendi said convicted members who return the amount withdrawn within
six months from conviction date may be allowed to apply for housing
withdrawal after two years while those who fail to do so will be barred from
applying.
In the past, EPF has uncovered several scams involving education, health and
housing withdrawals whereby members submitted forged documents to facilitate
their approval.
"EPF has been diligently working with the police to uncover scams operated
by syndicates that prey on members who appear desperate and in dire need of
money," he said, adding that EPF will not hesitate to take legal action
against syndicates and members involved in these activities to safeguard EPF
members' interests and financial security during retirement. |
