Banned individuals allowed in casinos, undeclared project savings among lapses found in AGO report

In a statement following the report’s release, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said the building was part of efforts to “rapidly expand national healthcare capacity and capability, in response to an urgent cancer treatment capacity crunch at that time”.

The audit had found lapses in the management of construction and consultancy service contracts managed by MOH Holdings (MOHH), the strategic holding company that oversees healthcare infrastructure development projects for MOH.

The lapses included obtaining approvals only after variation works were started or completed, as well as computing consultancy fees for additional services in a manner that deviated from standard procedures.

MOH did not declare its savings when developing NCCS and used the monies to fund projects on its own without necessary approvals from the Ministry of Finance (MOF), said the AGO.

The AGO noted that the ministry had called and awarded 12 tenders and a quotation worth $30.83 million for the project. 

For 11 of these procurements, totalling $26.31 million, tenders and a quotation were called and awarded even before MOH had obtained in-principle approval to start the project.

Using the project budget, MOH subsequently funded five items worth $35.34 million that had been specifically rejected or reduced by the Development Planning Committee (DPC), which falls under MOF’s purview.

When asked by the AGO, MOH said it had misinterpreted MOF’s conveyance note on the committee’s approval. It had also judged that reinstatement of such items rejected or reduced by DPC would be allowed, as long as broader parameters such as gross floor area and total budget were adhered to.

MOH also did not declare project savings totalling $147.96 million to MOF as at March 2026 – more than seven years past the deadline.

“We understand from MOH that it did not declare savings for all its development projects, and not just for the one we audited,” said the AGO, adding that MOH had used the undeclared savings to fund three items worth $11.95 million without MOF’s approval.

In response, MOH said the savings were due to lower tender prices for the various construction contracts, and were used to fund works such as a pedestrian link bridge connecting NCCS to Outram Park MRT station that improved accessibility and connectivity for patients.

The ministry said it takes the findings of the report very seriously and has since taken steps to address the lapses. It added that the project team carried out its work in good faith and there was no indication of deliberate wrongdoing.

“MOH and MOHH will continually strengthen our systems and controls to ensure rigour, consistency and accountability across all ongoing and future projects, to prevent recurrences of the lapses highlighted in the AGO report,” the ministry said.

Ministry of Education: Falsified officer appointment approval e-mails

The Ministry of Education (MOE) has dismissed one of its staff following the discovery of possible falsified approval e-mails relating to the appointment of new officers, it said in a statement responding to audit findings made public the same day. The ministry has also made a police report.

During its audit, the AGO said it had picked 22 officer appointment cases for checks from April 1, 2025, to Dec 31, 2025, and had requested supporting documents.

MOE then informed the office that there were possible falsified approval e-mails. An agency must obtain approval from its approving authority before offering an appointment to an applicant.

“We noted weaknesses in the appointment process, which, in our view, did not provide adequate assurance that there was proper scrutiny by the approving authority to ensure that the appointments were supported and justified,” said the AGO.

MOE said the approval process relied on manual procedures due to its specific context and high recruitment volume, which “created potential vulnerabilities to unauthorised human interventions”.

Responding to the AGO report, the ministry said candidates are assessed through a formal recruitment process that entails panels and approval by the appropriate authority before appointments are offered.

It added that it has since strengthened its processes and introduced independent checks to verify that all appointments have received the required approvals.

“We are also working towards automating staff appointment processes to reduce reliance on manual workflows and further strengthen governance,” it said.

Ministry of Manpower: Overcharging of levies

In its audit of the Ministry of Manpower (MOM), AGO found that the ministry had charged higher foreign worker levies than what was set out in law for work permit holders in the marine shipyard sector.

The amount of levy the ministry had overcharged in January and February 2026 came to $4.82 million.

MOM, which had revised levy rates and implemented them from Jan 1, 2026, had not updated the relevant subsidiary legislation to reflect the new rates at the time of the AGO audit. 

The rates have been updated in law, taking effect from June 1, the ministry said. MOM said it will refund affected firms via offsets from the firms’ levy liabilities.

It has also taken steps to tighten processes, such as formalising standard operating procedures for policy changes, and tightening legislative and system changes to prevent future lapses.