Jail for man who gave false info to MUIS while working for committee under its purview

SINGAPORE – A senior manager of a committee under the purview of the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (MUIS) lied to a public servant, claiming he had no financial interest in a company even though he had been paid for his services to one of its clients.

In reality, Mohd Zairil Ismail, 54, who was then working for Mosques-Madrasahs-Wakaf Shared Services (MMWSS), had been involved in discussions on the incorporation of software services firm Qirom Consulting.

However, he was not named in its incorporation documents due to concerns over a conflict of interest.

Qirom later provided software services to various mosques, madrasahs – or Islamic religious schools – and other organisations in the Muslim community.

On Nov 20, Zairil was sentenced to one week in jail after he pleaded guilty to one count of giving false information to a MUIS officer.

Zairil was a senior manager at MMWSS from 2021 to 2023.

In a Facebook post on Dec 31, 2024, MUIS said that Zairil was then employed by MMWSS and was not a staff member of the statutory board.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Matthew Choo told the court that MMWSS provides common administration and governance functions for mosques, madrasahs and wakafs, which are Muslim endowments for religious and charitable purposes. These include accounting and financial management.

Zairil joined MMWSS in 2006 and Qirom was incorporated in February 2015, with Mr Mohamad Daud A Rahim, 60, as one of its directors.

In 2015, Zairil opened a joint bank account with Mr Daud, who transferred money from Qirom to it.

Zairil had helped Qirom by providing accounting services to the company and its clients.

Court documents stated that he received between $2,000 and $3,000 a month in consultancy fees for providing accountancy services to one of Qirom’s clients – an unnamed non-profit social organisation – from 2015 to 2022.

Mr Daud would transfer the fees to the joint account, and Zairil would later move the money to his personal account.

The court heard that Zairil had assisted in preparing Qirom’s corporate income tax filings with the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore.

He had also recommended Qirom’s accounting software service to an unknown number of mosques that he interacted with as part of his official role with MMWSS.

However, Qirom’s accounting software service was neither endorsed nor accredited by MMWSS, said the prosecutor.

In September 2022, Muis received an anonymous complaint stating that Zairil had a stake in companies that were providing services to various mosques in Singapore.

DPP Choo said: “In November 2022, the accused and Daud decided to close the (bank) account, as they felt uneasy about the relationship between the accused and Qirom as there was chatter about (it).

“The accused then received a sum of $20,000 in a cash cheque from Daud, which was withdrawn from the account.”

Both men understood that the money was for Zairil’s help in recommending Qirom to various mosques and providing accounting services, DPP Choo added.

Zairil deposited the cheque into his personal bank account.

In June 2023, MUIS formed a panel to investigate the allegations against him.

One of MUIS’ deputy directors interviewed Zairil on June 16 that year.

Among other things, Zairil said during the interview that he had no financial interest in Qirom.

DPP Choo said the offender gave false answers as he was afraid that his employment would be terminated.

“He provided his false answers (hoping) that… (this) would end MUIS’ investigations against him,” the prosecutor added.

In September 2023, the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau received an anonymous e-mail stating similar allegations against him.

Zairil, Mr Daud and two other men – Mr Mohd Nasral Awang, 45, and Mr Mohd Nasir Mohd Sairi, 60 – were

charged in court in 2024

.

Mr Daud was handed multiple charges, including two counts of instigating another person to falsify accounts. He was accused of instigating Mr Nasral and Mr Nasir to prepare fictitious quotations, which were later submitted to Sultan Mosque as quotations for its digitalisation project.

Mr Nasral and Mr Nasir were each handed one count of intentionally aiding Mr Daud over such accounts.

Mr Nasral was then a director of Onaga Sys, while Mr Nasir was a director of Fatiin Multimedia.

The Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) said that after carefully considering the facts and circumstances of the case, the prosecution later asked for the trio to be given a conditional warning each in lieu of prosecution.

The men received the warnings in 2025.

On Nov 20, an AGC spokesperson told The Straits Times that the prosecution also applied for a discharge not amounting to an acquittal in relation to the charges against them.

The court granted it to Mr Daud, Mr Nasir and Mr Nasral on separate occasions in August and September.

With such a discharge, they could still be prosecuted for the crimes if relevant information or evidence were to emerge later.