I refer to the Forum letter, "Iras should account for failure to detect grant fraud" (Jan 18).

Though the long arm of the law will catch the wrongdoers, full restitution for loss may not always be possible. Pursuit of accountability is also of little help.

Financially, prevention of malpractices is key in sound policy implementation.

Before a funding policy is rolled out, it is good practice to subject it to robust internal checks for possible weaknesses.

Where feasible, seek input from an internal audit. The team's professional training and practical experiences make it well placed to do a critical review of internal control and compliance procedures. Businesses rely greatly on internal audits to uncover irregularities and to safeguard assets.

A recent episode of the TV show Crimewatch featured the arrest of a couple in a sham marriage.

The police were tipped off by an Immigration and Checkpoints Authority officer, who felt something was amiss when he found that the "married" couple had separate residential addresses.

Such inter-agency initiative and collaboration are highly commendable and should be encouraged, as it is important for policy enforcement and early detection of wrongdoing.

Though there is no foolproof procedure and policy, early detection through sound internal control procedures would allow for prompt remedial actions and mitigation of losses.

Ong Kim Bock