Woman arrested for suspected involvement in Budget 2020 Grocery Vouchers theft

Singapore – A 37-year-old woman was arrested by the Singapore Police Force (SPF) for her suspected involvement in a case of theft of Budget 2020 Grocery Vouchers from letterboxes.

Beginning Oct 1, the Government has been mailing Grocery Vouchers to eligible individuals living in 1-room and 2-room HDB flats. All Singaporeans aged 21 and above who meet such conditions and do not own more than one property can expect to receive their Grocery Vouchers.

The support scheme is a part of the GST (Goods and Services Tax) voucher benefits that have been disbursed to Singaporeans during the month of August since 2012. About 1.4 million Singaporeans are expected to receive their GSTV this year, which amounts to S$570 million distributed through various support schemes.

Another batch of vouchers worth S$100 will be delivered in 2021, according to the Ministry of Finance (MOF) website.

The vouchers can be used at participating supermarkets, such as FairPrice, Giant, Prime and Sheng Siong.

With residents receiving their vouchers the last two weeks, cases of mailboxes being tampered to access the good-as-cash vouchers have been highlighted in social media. Members from the online community discouraged such acts and wondered if it would be safer to have the vouchers sent to Community Centres or another venue and have the eligible individual pick it up.

On Wednesday (Oct 13), the SPF released an advisory on the matter, noting a woman was arrested for being involved in a case of theft at a residential block along Lorong 7 Toa Payoh on Oct 11. “The offence of theft under Section 379 of the Penal Code, Chapter 224 carries an imprisonment term which may extend to three years, or fine, or both,” said the SPF.

Reports of similar incidents in other residential areas are being investigated.

To minimise more cases, the SPF advised those eligible for the vouchers to collect them from the letterbox as soon as possible and to ensure that the receptacle is secure at all times.

According to the SPF, “If you suspect that your vouchers have been stolen, please make a police report immediately and contact the Grocery Voucher hotline at 1800-2222-888 to request for your vouchers to be voided and replaced. Voided vouchers cannot be redeemed.”

Any suspicious individual caught loitering near the letterboxes are to be reported to the police immediately, said the SPF.

Read related: S$300 Grocery Vouchers: Is it safe to distribute them by mail?

S$300 Grocery Vouchers: Is it safe to distribute them by mail?