Commissioner of Charities issues restriction order to Crisis Centre (Singapore) and bars Mr Dennis Lee from conducting fund-raising appeals for charitable purposes

The Commissioner of Charities (COC), Dr Ang Hak Seng, has issued an order under section 39B(1)(b) of the Charities Act to restrict the conduct of any fund-raising appeals by Crisis Centre (Singapore) (UEN T18SS0008H) until conditions imposed by the COC have been met.

1. The Commissioner of Charities (COC), Dr Ang Hak Seng, has issued an order under section 39B(1)(b) of the Charities Act to restrict the conduct of any fund-raising appeals by Crisis Centre (Singapore) (UEN T18SS0008H) until conditions imposed by the COC have been met. He has also issued an order under section 39B(1)(a) of the Charities Act to prohibit the President of the Charity, Mr Lee Wen Da, Dennis (Dennis Lee), from conducting any fund-raising appeal. Both orders take effect from 1 July 2020.
2. The COC had earlier suspended the conduct of all fund-raising appeals by the Charity from 15 August 2019 to 30 June 2020, pending investigations into 4 fundraising appeals conducted by the Charity. The COC has since reviewed the investigation findings and representations made by the Charity and Mr Dennis Lee.
3. The COC is satisfied that the grounds specified at section 39B(1)(iii) to (v) of the Charities Act have been met. He has thus issued an order under Section 39B(1)(b) of the Charities Act, which restricts the conduct of all fund-raising appeals by the Charity, until the following conditions have been fulfilled:
   
   (a) The Charity has implemented proper standard operating procedures for fund-raising and put in place proper systems and controls for the conduct of any fund-raising appeal, including the receipt and accounting of funds received;
   
   (b) The Charity has put in place proper volunteer management systems and controls to ensure oversight of the fund-raising appeal conducted by any of its volunteers; and
   
   (c) The Charity has obtained written approval from the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF), Sector Administrator for the Charity, for all the standard operating procedures, systems and controls stated above.
4. In addition, the COC is satisfied that the grounds specified at section 39B(1)(ii) to (v) of the Charities Act have been met. He has thus issued an order under section 39B(1)(a) of the Charities Act to prohibit Mr Dennis Lee from conducting any fundraising appeal, including those under other charities. According to the findings, Mr Dennis Lee, who was in charge of the 4 fund-raising appeals by the Charity under investigation, did not administer the fund-raising appeals properly and failed to ensure proper accountability over the funds received.
5. MSF is prepared to work with the Charity to improve the Charity’s governance, internal controls as well as fund-raising processes. This will enable the Charity to continue to render its services to the community with greater accountability and transparency.

Issued by:
Commissioner of Charities
30 June 2020

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