KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 22 — Six individuals, including several insured persons (OB) and an alleged mastermind, have been arrested for their suspected involvement in a syndicate that falsified documents for Invalidity Pension claims under the Employees’ Social Security Act 1969 (Act 4).
Social Security Organisation (Socso) Group chief executive officer Datuk Seri Mohammed Azman Aziz Mohammed said the arrests followed intelligence gathering and investigations under "Ops Stroke", carried out in collaboration with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) since September 3 last year.
"Preliminary investigations found that the total benefits paid out due to these fraudulent claims amounted to about RM220,000. However, Socso's swift action prevented a much larger projected loss.
"If this document falsification syndicate had not been curtailed immediately, the estimated losses could have reached RM3.78 million," he said in a statement today.
As such, Azman advised contributors to deal directly with the organisation for any claim applications, which are provided free of charge, to avoid being manipulated by third-party agents or syndicates.
"Socso constantly monitors for any elements of manipulation or fraud, and contributors are urged to always be honest and trustworthy when submitting claims.
"Any attempt to submit false documents will not only result in the claim being rejected, but those involved will also face legal action," he said.
Azman noted that such activities pose a serious threat to the long-term sustainability of the country's social security funds, as fund leakages due to fraudulent claims could jeopardise Socso's ability to provide essential assistance to contributors who are genuinely eligible and in need of protection.
