The great Socso scam

Hundreds of healthy workers are drawing disability pensions from the Social Security Organisation in a scam involving doctors and Socso’s own medical boards.
It was estimated that one in 10 of those medically boarded out is a fraud, said a Socso source.
Now, Socso is seeking to unearth these frauds, who may be drawing as much as RM43 million a year in benefits, with Socso paying out about RM430 million in benefits every year.
The most recent scam was uncovered in Perak, where some workers paid an agent a fee of RM5,000 each.
In return, they obtained fraudulent medical reports that showed they were unfit to work, and were certified as invalids by the Socso Medical Board there.
The source said Perak had among the highest number of workers in the country drawing various forms of disability benefits.
Undercover Socso officers recently investigated one such case, of a 54- year-old technician who had been certified medically unfit to work in 1999.
They found him doing heavy labour on his betel-leaf farm.
The man, who claimed he was suffering from heart disease and neck injuries and needed long-term treatment, was filmed climbing ladders and hoeing.
"If he was really unfit to work, he would not be able to undertake such heavy work," said the source.
Those who qualify for disability pension had been barred from working, until May when Socso eased the condition. Now, certified invalids can work but what they earn cannot exceed two-thirds of their last drawn pay.
The technician, who earned RM1,900 a month, was medically boarded out in 1999, just seven months before he was due to retire in February 2000.
Today he draws a disability pension of RM1,235 a month, roughly two-thirds of his last drawn pay, and also receives a pension of RM950 from the utility company he retired from.
On top of all this, he makes about RM3,000 monthly from his farm.
Medical documents issued by a doctor at a hospital in Perak were submitted to the Socso Medical Board, which certified him an invalid.
This case appears to be part of a worrying trend — growing numbers of workers nearing retirement age are applying for, and getting, disability pension, said the source.
Many of these cases involve workers more than 52 years old.
Of the 6,500 applications for invalid pension Socso receives every year, roughly a third, or about 2,200, are approved. The bulk of these cases involve workers nearing retirement.
"This is just the tip of the iceberg. We believe there are thousands who are drawing pensions they are not entitled to."
Last year, Socso paid out RM173.5 million in invalid pension to 29,385 people.
It paid another RM255.1 million in survivor pension to 114,346 beneficiaries.
Source