[ad_1]
SINGAPORE: A teacher at Woodgrove Secondary School on Wednesday, November 28, was tried for diverting approximately $ 40,000 worth of learning materials from Singapore.
Maslinda Zainal was deployed to the school in 2002 and became head of the English Department in 2006, the court said.
As general manager, Maslinda led the English department, defining tasks, planning programs for students, and selecting course materials.
The 44-year-old man reported to the deputy director and received a gross monthly salary of S $ 8,800. He was also responsible for collecting the funds that students submitted to their English teachers to obtain educational material called Excel software package.
These modules, which included English subjects such as grammar and comprehension, were prepared by the school's teachers.
Maslinda was to hand over the money to the school bookstore, which would print the materials for the students.
However, she reportedly collected excessively student money between January 2016 and April 2017. The gap between the cost of the packages and the amount collected was about 40,000 Singapore dollars.
Maslinda, represented by defense lawyer Singa Retnam, was suspended.
READ: The former director of the NTU affiliate charged with conspiracy to deceive the university
CHOITED TO SUCH A WIDE COLLECTION: MAIN
The director of the school, Mr. Chee Chit Yeng, appeared Wednesday as the first witness of the prosecution.
He explained to the court that this misappropriation was detected for the first time by Ms. Jacqueline Chan, head of lower secondary school in English.
Ms. Chan had questioned the owner of the library about the equipment and the fact that the packages had already been paid.
"The bookseller said yes and showed her bills," Chee said. "When she looked at the amounts reflected, they differed significantly from the amounts collected from the students."
The information was then passed on to Mr. Chee, and Maslinda was mentioned because she was "the one who liaised with the bookstore vendor and settled the payment."
"The materials had to be produced by the bookstore and the students would have had to pay and buy the materials directly at the bookstore," said the director. "That would have been the normal procedure."
READ: SUSS fires teacher for disclosing questions and answers
After that, Mr. Chee tried to gather evidence by obtaining copies of the lists of names of all classes, lists of books given to students and bills from the bookstore.
However, the store could only provide invoices for the years 2016 and 2017 because it was not able to recover the 2015 and earlier records due to a cycle internal management, he said.
In collaboration with the Deputy Director, Mr. Chee created a table summarizing the figures of what the packages should have cost and the amount of Maslinda.
He noted a difference of about $ 40,000 in Singapore.
"Personally, I was quite shocked by the fact that there was such an excessive collection," Mr. Chee said.
He stated that he had had good working relations with Maslinda and that she had been running the department satisfactorily during her tenure as director, starting in 2013.
After that, Mr. Chee contacted the discipline unit of the Department of Education and made a police report on April 7, 2017.
Maslinda was later released on bail and suspended. In her absence, Ms. Chan assumed her roles and shared her tasks with other teachers.
The trial continues Thursday.
The prosecution intends to bring at least nine witnesses, including Ms. Chan, owner of the bookstore, teachers from the English department and investigators from the Ministry of Education.
If he is found guilty of breach of trust on the part of a criminal, Maslinda could be sentenced to a term of imprisonment of up to 10 years and fined .
Channel NewsAsia has contacted MOE for comments.
Source link
