Lianhe ZaoBao, 4 May
Forum, Pg 20
We refer to Mr Ho Khan’s forum letter “Hope to increase payouts” (Lianhe Zaobao, 25 April).
We have investigated the matter and found that the unpleasant encounter between our Customer Service Executive (CSE) and his friend alleged by Mr Ho to be untrue.
On 12 April, Mr Ho’s friend, Mdm Fong, visited the Tampines Service Centre to request an increase in her monthly payouts. Our review of the recordings show that our CSE had attended to Mdm Fong professionally throughout the interaction. He had assisted Mdm Fong to withdraw her CPF savings to meet her immediate needs and also explained that the Social Services Office would be able to assist her if she had any difficulty with daily living expenses. If Mdm Fong’s medical condition deteriorates to the extent that her life-expectancy is reduced, we would be able to help her withdraw more of her CPF savings. Mdm Fong had thanked our CSE for his assistance at the end of the session and left our service counter amicably with no further queries.
At no time was Mr Ho present throughout this entire interaction and was in fact, waiting outside the Service Centre.
We would like to urge members of the public to refrain from making allegations based on second-hand account. Such remarks can undermine public trust in the government and the morale of our staff.
We have nonetheless reached out to the Social Services Office to get in touch with Mdm Fong to see how they could further assist her. We have also raised this case to HDB’s attention so that Mdm Fong might monetise her HDB flat if she so wishes.
Janice Lai
Group Director (Customer Relations Group)
Central Provident Fund Board
