Dubious tailoring and footwear claims made by ministry staff

The Star

PETALING JAYA: Health Ministry staff members filed as much as RM550,000 to RM600,000 in dubious claims on tailoring and footwear, said the Auditor-General’s Report 2012.

Audit checks revealed that 1,014 of the ministry’s staff members in 10 centres responsible for the tailoring claims had produced dubious receipts. It was found that the premises for the tailoring claims did not exist, said the report.

The claims made for long-sleeved shirts and long pants were RM545,105 when the market rates were RM146,340 to 200,780, while claims for overcoats were RM21,700 while the market rates were RM12,465 to RM13,470.

The claims made for baju kurung were RM5,080 while the market rates were RM2,114 to RM3,420.

On footwear, checks on 721 staff members at eight centres revealed the claims did not have telephone number, receipt or bill number, no leather shoes being sold at the shops and the buying price was higher than other shops nearby.

The dubious claims amounted to RM207,293; RM210,002 claims were made while the market rates were RM2,710 to RM3,280.

In a reply on Feb 15, the ministry admitted that there was confusion over the maximum allowance for uniform claims and that adequate checks were not made on the claims.

Following the checks, the centres responsible had been able to recoup RM95,240 for the dubious tailoring claims and RM7,772 for footwear up until the A-G’s report was made.