Woman working in finance department used erasable ink to write payee’s name on company cheques
A woman in Singapore has been jailed for using erasable ink on cheques to steal nearly S$50,000 from her company.
She did this by erasing the original payee’s name on the cheques and replacing it with her own, reported Shin Min Daily News.
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Woman filled cheques with erasable ink before director signed them
42-year-old Lai Yajie (transliterated from Mandarin), worked in the finance department of an unnamed company, from 2021 to May 2022.
She was tasked with preparing payment vouchers and the corresponding cheques for the company’s two directors to sign.
Between January and February 2022, she began using an erasable ink pen to fill out the original payee’s name and amount to be paid, then passing them to the director to sign.
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Once the cheque was signed, she would erase the original payee’s name and replace it with either her own, her husband’s, or her friend’s.
She did this for five cheques, allowing her to funnel close to S$50,000 from the company’s account.
Misdeeds uncovered during company audit
Lai spent the funds on food, air tickets, and her children’s expenses.
To cover up her misdeeds, she lied to her husband and friend that the funds were reimbursed to her by her company after she bought items on its behalf.
The scheme was uncovered during the company’s annual audit in 2023, with the director calling the police on 5 May that year.
Woman hatched the plan as she was in debt
Lai faced seven charges in court on Tuesday (8 April), pleading guilty to two counts of forgery and one count of criminal breach of trust.
The court heard that she needed money to bring her children from Bali to Singapore.
Thus, she hatched the plan as she owed money to her husband and friend.
She was eventually sentenced to 18 months’ jail, with the remaining charges taken into consideration by the judge during sentencing.
Also read: S’porean woman received over S$711M in company’s bank account, didn’t know where money came from
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