Man Barred From Raising Funds For Charity After Breaching Regulations

A 26-year-old Singaporean man has been barred from carrying out fundraising activities after he was found to have breached multiple regulations.

- Aqil Hamzah

Starting from June 10, Mr Eugene Liow Chia Hau will no longer be able to raise funds for charitable, benevolent, or philanthropic purposes, said the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY) and Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) in a statement on the same day.

The prohibition order was published in the electronic gazette on June 9 and was issued by the Commissioner of Charities (COC). The Straits Times had approached MCCY for more information after the publication of the notice.

In their June 10 statement, the ministries said the COC had received feedback between July 2023 and January 2024 about fundraising appeals carried out by Direct Hope, which was run by Mr Liow.

Direct Hope was engaged by the youth charity Bilby Community Development as a commercial fundraiser between May 2023 and January 2024.

The feedback led to an investigation by MSF, which found Mr Liow to have breached multiple regulations under the Charities (Fundraising Appeals for Local and Foreign Charitable Purposes) Regulations.