ST ILLUSTRATION: MANNY FRANCISCO

• Singapore sees about 28,500 annual work injury claims under Wica, with a small percentage suspected as fraudulent, leading to investigations and prosecutions.
• Employers and insurers report instances of staged accidents and injury exaggerations, prompting calls for stricter Wica rules and better employee education.
• NGOs highlight issues faced by workers, including delayed claim processing, inadequate medical care, and employers avoiding incident reporting to MOM.

SINGAPORE – Tens of thousands of workers in Singapore file compensation claims for injuries sustained on the job. While the vast majority are genuine, a small number of fraudulent claims still slip through the cracks.

According to data from the Ministry of Manpower (MOM), about 28,500 claims are filed each year under the Work Injury Compensation Act (Wica) – designed to protect both workers and employers by making the claim process cheaper and quicker than court action.

Around 12 Wica claims are flagged for investigation each year. Over the last five years, around two workers were prosecuted for false claims a year.

Several employers, insurers and private investigators told The Straits Times they have dealt with such fraud.

A construction boss, who asked to be identified as Mr Salman, said one of his workers sought medical help from multiple hospitals for his Wica claim.

But appointment records showed that the injury happened before he was even hired.

Mr Salman added that a few...

Read Full Story: https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMingFBVV95cUxOalBXeXpaSzZwNWZhR1ZMMXE0...