Accounts of 18 dead ActiveSG members used to enter pools, gyms, and other findings in AGO report

The accounts of 18 dead ActiveSG members were used for 283 admissions to pools and gyms. In some cases, members had died for as long as 4.8 years before the dates of entry.

AGO also found that 1,860 admissions over a 12-month period were made using passes belonging to 339 member accounts that were shared, although the passes were strictly non-transferable under ActiveSG’s terms of use.

For 1,834 admissions, members had used their passes to enter an ActiveSG pool or gym while their accounts were concurrently being used for entry at the same or a different pool or gym.

Another 2,563 members had abused free admission benefits meant for seniors aged 65 and above. They accounted for 20,582 of the 22,618 admissions involving the use of special or discounted passes by ineligible persons.

AGO said inadequate controls over admissions to pools and gyms would lead to “revenue leakage” for SportSG.

SportSG said it has improved its ActiveSG membership system, which will include safeguards such as dynamic QR codes, the use of sgID, and Singpass data synchronisation to prevent abuse.

In addition, the agency said it has put in place guides and checklists to ensure its staff are clear on the processes where manual checks are needed, and will carry out periodic checks to detect unusual admission transactions.

Surprise stocktakes at three equipment locations – two involving the Singapore Civil Defence Force and one involving the police – found issues with inventory and records management.

This was part of an audit of MHA’s management of a $783.83 million contract to provide logistics services, including warehouse management services.

AGO found discrepancies between the inventory balance records and physical inventory at all three places. The police said in its case, these were largely due to items misplaced but subsequently found, as well as errors in records. There was no loss of items, it added.

It also found overpayments totalling $151,900 and underpayments totalling $84,300 made to the vendor under the same contract between January 2020 and September 2023.

MHA said it has taken immediate steps to improve inventory management, with the police working with their vendor to reorganise their store, and with their units to complete data cleansing of inventory records by end-July.

On overpayments, MHA said it would offset the net overpayment from the next performance bonus payout to the vendor and apply the right method when computing future bonuses.

Lapses at SDC involved the management of two vehicle maintenance contracts with a value totalling $3.62 million. They were awarded to a contractor for a period of five years, from July 1, 2020, to June 30, 2025. As at Dec 12, 2023, 147 vehicles were to be maintained under them.

AGO’s analysis found that 151 out of 1,593 servicing jobs scheduled on 54 vehicles were not performed. The number of quarterly servicing jobs not done for each of the 54 vehicles ranged from one to eight instances.

SDC was, however, not aware and did not take these into consideration when evaluating the contractor’s monthly performance, AGO said.

AGO added that it found 73 jobs with “telltale signs” that the contractor had created servicing job sheets even though no work was done. This was unacceptable, AGO said.

SDC said its contract management team was replaced in January 2024. The new team has improved processes, including checks and documentation to ensure all required works are carried out according to schedule.

SDC is also establishing an agreement with its contractor to omit payment for missed servicing works for the remaining contract period till June 30, 2025.

BCA did not adequately monitor the performance of its appointed operator for Jurong Apartments, which served as a quarantine facility for foreign workers during the Covid-19 pandemic, before making payments.

During a site visit to 12 dwelling units in November 2023, AGO found six were poorly maintained, even though the operator was responsible for their upkeep.

AGO also noted 20 instances of lapses in 19 out of 25 declaration forms required for five other projects. Seven involved panel members who were evaluating grants, but did not indicate whether they were in a position of conflict of interest or not. In another instance, a panel member had checked off conflicting declaration statements in the form.

BCA said it acknowledged its gaps in monitoring contract requirements and the operator’s work, particularly during the stepped-down operations from October 2022 onwards when the building was no longer occupied.

As part of its remedial actions, BCA said it verified that the operator performed necessary works based on maintenance schedules and proof of work done. It also said this was a procedural lapse, with no fraudulent activities nor malicious intent found.

BCA also said it has since used electronic forms that have compulsory fields for declarations and reminders for members to declare any conflict of interest prior to evaluation meetings. Members who declare a conflict of interest would be recused.

The authority added that follow-up checks did not find any actual conflicts of interest in the instances flagged.

After checking six requests for quotation (RFQ) with a value of $4.43 million combined, AGO found that IMDA did not make clear the criteria by which one RFQ would be evaluated, so the outcome of the eventual award could have been different.

One vendor submitted a bid that was less than half the price quoted by the awarded vendor, AGO noted.

IMDA said it would review and update its processes and guidelines to staff to ensure that all requirements to be scored were explicitly stated.

AGO said MSF and ECDA generally have processes and controls to ensure parenthood support measures administered by them are properly managed. 

Areas for improvement include monitoring mechanisms for the Baby Bonus Scheme to ensure that Child Development Account (CDA) withdrawals were made only at registered approved institutions, and for authorised beneficiaries and eligible items, AGO said.

AGO had detected unusual patterns of withdrawals from five CDAs by three parents or trustees during its audit. On these five accounts, 85 withdrawals totalling $28,900 were made within short periods of time. The frequent withdrawals and the nature of items purchased, such as adult-sized sunglasses, indicated a possible abuse of CDA monies, AGO said.

MSF said it has been generating regular data analytics reports since February to help detect and investigate anomalous transactions, adding that it would also carry out regular audits on approved institutions.

The ministry has lodged a police report against the three parents or trustees.

AGO found lapses in MOE’s management of three school construction contracts. They included approvals obtained only after variation works started, lapses in the valuation of contract variations, and payments for works not carried out or not done in accordance to contractual requirements. 

The total net possible overpayment to contractors resulting from the lapses is estimated to be $317,100. This includes $49,400 paid towards 900 student lockers that were not installed, and $28,700 paid towards textured spray coating which was not applied to staircases.

Over at NYP, AGO found that 134 bills for Continuing Education and Training course fees totalling $8.98 million were issued after classes had commenced. Bills were found to have been issued as late as a year after the courses’ start date.

NYP also did not promptly follow-up on outstanding course fees that were due, with $240,000 in course fees owed for six months to as long as 3.5 years as at Nov 15, 2023.

MOE said it would step up on-site supervision and audits to verify works done, ensure that variation works were carried out, and issue stern warnings to consultants who failed to exercise due diligence when carrying out variation works. It also aims to develop an IT system by end-2024 to improve contract administration.

NYP said it would work on engaging a service provider to recover debts, adding that it has made changes to processes for billing and fee collection via a training portal rolled out in July 2023.

Test-checks on two NParks’ term contracts uncovered 42 lapses, of which 18 instances involved full payment made for work not done according to specifications, resulting in possible overpayments of $1.27 million to contractors.

Together with other lapses, which include shortfalls in the valuation of work done and duplicate payments, the total possible overpayment was estimated to be $1.93 million - 18 per cent of the total value of the 60 work orders checked.

AGO cited an example where NParks had ordered the construction of two grass and gravel tracks, totalling a distance of 1.2km. The contractor used cheaper quarry dust instead, but NParks paid it according to the original contract rate. This resulted in a possible overpayment of $810,000.

NParks said it took action to recover $290,000 of the $1.93 million in possible overpayments as at May, and will work towards recovering the remaining overpayments.

It has also tightened verification processes to ensure that works carried out on-site did not deviate from the required works and drawings. For projects of higher value, NParks has engaged external consultants to check the works and payment claims, it said.