SINGAPORE – A woman who owns six companies was charged on Friday with two counts of forgery over two letters purportedly from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).

The first letter, dated June 16, 2023, which Margaret Toh Siew Hoon allegedly forged, asked for the return of a deposit she had purportedly paid to the Customs Operations Command.

Details about the deposit, such as its amount and what it was for, were not disclosed in court documents.

Toh, 55, whose companies include Cars 88 Autoworks and Hai Hoon Transport Services, is also accused of forging a second letter, dated June 17, 2023.

This document asked for the return of $8,000 which she had allegedly paid to the Housing Board.

Her alleged offences came to light when the Singapore Police Force (SPF) received a report from Singapore Customs on June 22.

In a statement to the media on Thursday, SPF said that a Singapore Customs investigation officer had earlier received an e-mail asking for the return of a security deposit.

“The e-mail contained a letter allegedly prepared by the (PMO), demanding for the matters to be expedited without any delay,” said a police spokesperson. “Verifications were made with the (PMO), and it was revealed that the said letter was fake.”

Officers from Jurong Police Division managed to establish Toh’s identity and arrested her on June 27.

Investigations later revealed that another letter, which she had allegedly forged and e-mailed to the HDB, asked for her monies paid for the e-bidding of two minimarts to be refunded without any delay. SPF did not disclose details about the minimarts.

Toh’s case has been adjourned to Oct 27.

For each count of forgery, an offender can be jailed for up to 10 years and fined.