Singaporean owner of defunct company barred from raising funds for charity after regulation breaches

A Singaporean man, 26, has been barred from carrying out fundraising activities after he was found to have breached multiple regulations.

Eugene Liow Chia Hau will not be able to raise funds for charitable, benevolent or philanthropic purposes from Tuesday (June 10).

In a joint statement on the same day, the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY) and the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) said that the Commissioner of Charities had received feedback between July 2023 and January 2024 about fund-raising appeals carried out by Direct Hope, which was run by Liow.

The now-defunct company was engaged by the youth charity Bilby Community Development as a commercial fund-raiser between May 2023 and January 2024.

Investigations by MSF found that Liow, who is the sole proprietor of Direct Hope, had multiple breaches under the Charities (Fund-raising Appeals for Local and Foreign Charitable Purposes) Regulations.

Liow did not place adequate "control measures and safeguards to ensure proper accountability" of donations collected by Direct Hope, and to prevent them from being lost or stolen, MCCY and MSF said.

"He also did not maintain proper accounting records of the fund-raising appeals, or a list of the personal particulars of Direct Hope's collectors," they said.

Checks by AsiaOne showed that Direct Hope is not a registered charity. Its business records listing its principal activity as "other social services without accommodation".

Its other principal activity involved the sale of handicrafts, collectibles and gifts.

Direct Hope was registered as a business in August 2021, and its licence expired three years later and was not renewed.

A screenshot of the Direct Hope website, shared on social media, showed the group describing itself as a "community-driven social youth enterprise" that purportedly supports "marginalised youths" through "direct selling activities".

AsiaOne found that online complaints about Direct Hope going door to door soliciting donations have been circulating since 2022.

MCCY and MSF said that while most fund-raising appeals are genuine, it is important for the public to continue practicing safer giving to ensure "their donations are used for genuine charitable purposes".

The ministries said that members of the public should ask questions and check the Charity Portal at www.charities.gov.sg to find out if a charity is registered or has shared details of its public fund-raising appeal.

They can scan a QR code on the official letter provided by the charitable organisation, which will lead to more details on the Charity Portal.

Members of the public can also send an SMS to 79777, which should be formatted as FR , followed by a space and the organisation's name, or call the Charities Unit on 6337-6597.

"Members of the public should not feel pressured to give if they have concerns or suspect that an appeal for donations is not legitimate," MCCY and MSF said.

They can make a report to the COC at mccy_charities@mccy.gov.sg to alert them on suspicious fund-raising activities.

If it is a suspected scam or fraud case, then they should file a police report immediately.

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chingshijie@asiaone.com