The Commission Against Corruption (CCAC) has recently discovered that a public servant working in the Labour Affairs Bureau (DSAL) defrauded the government out of a marriage allowance with the assistance of a colleague, the anti-graft body said in a statement yesterday.
The statement did not mention the two public servants’ respective genders.
According to the statement, CCAC officials discovered that a senior public servant tasked with the bureau’s administrative and financial affairs had personally accepted and processed an application for a marriage allowance submitted by his or her colleague, even though he or she knew that the application had been submitted after the deadline.
In addition, the senior public servant falsified the date when he or she had received the marriage allowance application and gave a false reason for accepting it, falsely claiming that his or her colleague had submitted the application within the required period, the statement said.
The statement said that the two public servants “finally succeeded” in cheating the Labour Affairs Bureau, which approved the marriage allowance application, resulting in the Financial Services Bureau (DSF) wrongly granting the applicant a marriage allowance.
Public servants’ marriage allowance amounts to 4,095 patacas.
According to the statement, the anti-graft body has transferred the case to the Public Prosecution Office (MP) for further investigation, possibly leading to a charge of document forgery committed by a public servant, as well as a possible fraud charge.
Attempted bribe for occupational safety card
Meanwhile, the CCAC statement also announced that a person who was sitting an examination for obtaining an occupational safety card for working on construction sites attempted to bribe an invigilator with 2,000 patacas so as to ensure that he or she would pass the examination. The statement did not mention the person’s gender and whether he or she is a local resident or a non-resident worker.
According to the statement, CCAC officials carried out an investigation into the case after receiving a report from the Labour Affairs Bureau, which issues occupational safety cards to those working on construction sites.
According to the statement, the person who had enrolled in the bureau’s course for obtaining an occupational safety card did not believe that he or she could pass the examination, and therefore during the examination he or she attempted to bribe the invigilator with 2,000 patacas to let him or her pass the examination.
According to the statement, the anti-graft body has transferred the case to the Public Prosecution Office for further investigation. The person faces a charge of attempting to bribe a public servant.
In a follow-up statement yesterday, the Labour Affairs Bureau said that it has launched disciplinary procedures against the two public servants, pledging that it will handle the case in line with the law if it confirms that the duo had violated laws or engaged in disciplinary violations.
Concerning the attempted bribe case, the DSAL statement said that the bureau remains committed to upholding integrity.
This undated handout photo released by the Labour Affairs Bureau (DSAL) earlier this year shows its headquarters in Areia Preta district.
