Commissioner of Charities bars Noryana Binte Mohamed Salleh and Rajzaed Bin Sedik from conducting fund-raising appeals for charitable purposes

The Commissioner of Charities (COC) has issued a prohibition order under Section 39B(1)(a) of the Charities Act to bar Noryana and Rajzaed from conducting any fund-raising appeal.

1. The Commissioner of Charities (COC) has issued a prohibition order under Section 39B(1)(a) of the Charities Act to bar Noryana Binte Mohamed Salleh and Rajzaed Bin Sedik from conducting any fund-raising appeal for charitable, benevolent or philanthropic purposes (fund-raising appeal) with effect from 12 October 2018.  
2. Noryana, 37 years old, and Rajzaed, 40 years old, are both Singaporeans and former employees of Bedok Youth Society for the Disabled (BYSD). After leaving the employment of BYSD, Noryana and Rajzaed decided to steal BYSD’s collection receipt booklets and to use these receipt booklets to deceive unsuspecting donors into believing that they were making donations to BYSD, when the donations would in fact be pocketed by Noryana and Rajzaed. Noryana and Rajzaed acted on their plan and managed to deceive multiple donors into donating almost $10,000. Noryana and Rajzaed were arrested after BYSD reported these unauthorised fund-raising appeals to the Police. 
3. Noryana and Rajzaed were convicted in State Courts for theft and cheating charges.
4. In view of the above, the COC is satisfied that the fund-raising appeals carried out by Noryana and Rajzaed were not conducted in good faith, and both individuals are not fit and proper persons to conduct fund-raising appeals for charitable, benevolent or philanthropic purposes. In addition, the fund-raising appeals conducted by them were improperly administered and not in compliance with the Charities (Fundraising Appeals for Local and Foreign Charitable Purposes) Regulations 2012. Hence, to safeguard the public interest, the COC has decided to prohibit Noryana and Rajzaed from conducting any fund-raising appeals with effect from 12 October 2018. 
   
   

   Public Advisory

5. When members of the public are approached by fund-raisers, they are advised to be discerning and to never feel pressured into making a donation immediately. While most fund-raising appeals are genuine, it is always good to find out more before deciding to give by practising three simple steps: Ask, Check, Give. First, members of the public should ask questions, such as who the beneficiary is, how the donations will be used, and how much of the donations goes to the beneficiary. Second, check the legitimacy of the fund-raising appeals - verification can be done via the Charity Portal, scanning the Fund-raising Permit’s QR Code or SMS “FR <space><license/certificate number or organisation name>” to 79777. If in doubt, members of the public should contact or find out more about the fund-raising organisation. Finally, give only when assured that the appeal is legitimate and the donation will go to its intended charitable purpose. 
6. Members of the public who have concerns regarding any suspicious fundraising appeals should report the matter to the Commissioner of Charities. If fraud or scams are suspected, a Police report should be lodged immediately. 
   

    

   Issued by 

   Commissioner of Charities 

   12 October 2018