Former chairman of Darussalam Mosque, Abdul Mutalif Hashim, was charged in court yesterday (Aug 3) on 14 counts of criminal breach of trust involving savings from money collected at the mosque, reported Berita Harian on Thursday.
The donations amount to more than $370,000.
Mutalif, 55, was accused of committing the offences between 2006 and 2013 while as chairman of the mosque (Masjid Darussalam) at Clementi, as well as head of the administration office (Lembaga Pentadbir Masjid – LPM) of the mosque.
Mutalif is also president of Adam Association, a non-profit organisation to give support to men and a place for them to seek help.
According to the report, out of the 14 charges, nine involve Mutalif allegedly misappropriated $353,600 worth of collections from Masjid Darussalam, which he divided and banked into several bank accounts. These actions were not known by the mosque’s administration office (LPM).
According to the charge sheet which Berita Harian has obtained, he is accused of having committed the above offence over seven years, from Jan 2006 to March 2013.
Apart from that, there are five charges which involve him allegedly siphoning $18,291 from Masjid Darussalam’s donations and using it for expenses in Adam Association. These actions were again not known by the mosque’s administration office.
Mutalif is accused of committing the above offences over a period of four years, from Jan 2006 to Nov 2009.
As a whole, he managed to siphon a total of $371,891 from the mosque, which he then placed in several bank accounts and used for Adam Association expenses.
A spokesperson from the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (Muis) condemned the act. It stated to Berita Harian that “such actions in mosques are not acceptable”.
According to the newspaper, Muis had informed the police after they found inconsistencies. However, it did not provide details as the case is being heard in court.
It is understood that Mutalif did not appear in court yesterday because he was sick. His case will be heard again in court on August 10.
If found guilty, he can be jailed for life or up to 20 years and fined for each charge.
Source: http://news.asiaone.com
