Singapore Heritage Charity Founder Arrested for Forgery Amid CPF Contribution Controversy

Hey everyone, there’s been some pretty unexpected news coming out of Singapore recently that’s been buzzing around the local community and heritage lovers. Kwek Li Yong, the founder and executive director of My Community Limited, was arrested on suspicion of forgery. Yup, you read that right — forgery. It’s a bit of a shocker given My Community Limited’s reputation and the important cultural work they’ve been doing.

So, here’s the lowdown. On September 25, the Singapore Police Force arrested Mr Kwek following a report that involved suspected forgery offences. The police are still investigating the matter and haven’t released much info beyond that. What’s more, Mr Kwek is currently on police bail, which basically means he’s been released from custody but is still part of the ongoing investigation.

On top of that, the Central Provident Fund (CPF) Board revealed some separate but related drama: former employees of My Community Limited have come forward with claims saying that their CPF contributions weren’t paid properly by the company. This is a serious issue because CPF contributions are mandatory in Singapore, and withholding them can lead to prosecution — which is exactly what the CPF Board is doing right now.

In fact, the CPF Board has already managed to recover a portion of these overdue contributions, and they’re actively pursuing the company to recover the rest. While the exact amounts owed haven’t been made public, it’s clear that the situation is causing quite a headache for My Community Limited.

When asked about all this, Mr Kwek said in early October that he’s still in preliminary talks with both the CPF Board and the police. No real conclusions yet, but he claims they’re working together to sort everything out. Fingers crossed that the truth comes out and this is just a big misunderstanding, though the whole forgery allegation is pretty serious.

For those of you unfamiliar with My Community Limited, they’re a charity organisation with roots dating back to 2010 when they started as a heritage society. They were officially registered as a company limited by guarantee in January 2020, and as a charity in May that same year. Their mission has been all about preserving Singapore’s rich cultural and heritage landscape.

The organisation is best known for hosting free guided tours around historically significant neighbourhoods like Queenstown, Clementi, and Telok Blangah. They also put together the annual My Community Festival since 2020, which offers a series of heritage programmes and tours that many locals and tourists enjoy. Beyond tours, they provide arts and heritage-related research, consultancy services, and design for exhibitions and museums.

In fact, last year (2023), they were awarded contracts to set up heritage galleries in at least three secondary schools as well as the Accountant-General’s Department — a pretty impressive feat! These projects are scheduled to be wrapped up by November this year, according to procurement documents. Naturally, people have been reaching out to the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Finance for comments on the matter, but there haven’t been any official statements released so far.

Looking through their 2022 annual report gives a bit more context on the organisation’s progress before all this came to light. My Community Limited was in the middle of transitioning fully into a company limited by guarantee, with commitments to staying a non-profit organisation focused on its charitable mission.

What’s interesting is that the organisation claimed that their charitable initiatives in 2021 and 2022 were financially self-sustaining — they didn’t rely on extra grants or public donations to keep their programmes running, which is a solid claim for any charity.

They also briefly held IPC (Institution of a Public Character) status from June 2022 to May 2023, which means donors could get tax deductions when giving to the organisation. Having IPC status is usually a sign of credibility in the charity world, so this sudden controversy is quite a blow.

All in all, this situation raises a lot of questions. How did these alleged forgery offences happen within an organisation focused on cultural heritage and community? What’s going to happen with the CPF arrears case? And how will news like this affect community trust, especially for non-profits that rely on public goodwill?

It’s definitely a reminder that even well-established organisations aren’t immune to internal issues or legal troubles, and transparency matters a ton when you’re working with public funds and community support.

We’ll be keeping an eye on how this story develops over the coming months. Hopefully, all the facts come to light soon and the situation gets resolved fairly — whatever the outcome may be. In the meantime, if you’re involved with or support any charity, it’s always good to stay informed about their governance and financial health too.

Let us know what you think about this! Were you familiar with My Community Limited before? Does this news affect your view on local heritage work? Drop your thoughts below and let’s get the conversation going.