Jail for woman who funded vacations with donations supposedly to buy eggs for the elderly

SINGAPORE – A woman raised funds under the guise of charity work to fund her own vacations and to support her husband’s business.

In a Facebook group that allows users to promote their charity work, the woman lied that she was fund-raising to buy eggs for nursing homes and elderly people.

Her scheme led to 137 individuals donating a total of more than $10,163.

On Oct 12, Anna Goh Li Bing, 39, was sentenced to two weeks’ jail after pleading guilty to one count of criminal breach of trust. One other forgery charge was taken into consideration during her sentencing.

The court heard that Goh, who was a member of the Facebook group, had posted on Oct 3, 2023, that she was looking for donations to purchase eggs at $2 per tray to be distributed to a home for senior citizens located in Jalan Kayu.

She had linked her own mobile number and bank account details in the post so that donations would be directly deposited into her account.

To cover up her tracks, Goh also forged a digital letter dated Nov 7, 2023, which purportedly indicated that the Jalan Kayu home had received 850 trays of eggs. She then sent the letter to some of the donors.

But the forged digital document raised suspicions.

Between November 2023 and December 2023, several donors filed police reports online saying that they had donated money to Goh’s donation drive and received the forged letter, but checks with the Jalan Kayu home showed it had not received any eggs.

Investigations later found that between Oct 3, 2023, and Nov 10, 2023, Goh received more than $10,163 from 134 donors. She admitted to using the money for her vacation expenses and to help her husband’s business.

After investigations into Goh started, she made partial restitution by delivering 4,500 eggs valued at $922 to the home for senior citizens between November 2023 and March 2026.

She separately transferred another $300 to the home. More than $8,940 of the funds remain unrecovered.