A former zakat officer at Al-Istiqamah Mosque was sentenced to eight months in prison for embezzling more than $13,000 in alms meant for the underprivileged.
According Straits Times, Muhammad Hafiz Mohd Yusof, 28, pleaded guilty to three counts of criminal breach of trust involving nearly $10,000 during his court appearance on August 13, 2023. He made no effort to return any of the stolen funds.
According to Zakat Singapore website which oversees the management and administration of Zakat funds in Singapore, Zakat forms the third pillar of Islam. Zakat is a religious obligation for all abled and privileged Muslims to redistribute and share their wealth and blessings with the underprivileged in the community.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Grace Chua highlighted the protocols that Hafiz was required to follow during cash collections. He was instructed to issue a computer-generated receipt and store the funds in a secure box.
In cases of discrepancies, Hafiz was to void the original receipt and upload the accurate information into the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (Muis) system, subsequently issuing a new receipt.
The fraudulent activities first came to light following an incident on April 27, 2022, when a victim deposited a zakat payment of $5,100 in cash. Instead of following proper protocols, Hafiz pocketed $5,000 of the funds after voiding the receipt and downgrading the registered amount to just $100, DPP Chua told the court according to ST.
Over the course of 2022 and 2023, Hafiz employed a similar tactic on five more occasions, pocketing additional funds from other unsuspecting victims. His malfeasance went unnoticed until Muis identified discrepancies in six receipts he had voided before August 8, 2023.
Investigations confirmed that the actual contributions made by victims far exceeded the amounts recorded in Hafiz’s new receipts.
Authorities were alerted, leading to police involvement and subsequent charges being filed against Hafiz in early 2024. His bail was set at $10,000, and he was mandated to report to the State Courts on September 10 to commence his sentence.
Under Singaporean law, individuals convicted of criminal breach of trust can face up to 15 years in prison and hefty fines for each offense.
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