Fun fact, if you are looking for some extra cash on the side, Volunteer Special Constabulary (VSC) officers were overpaid in the last seven years. That is set to be halted.

The Auditor-General Report has highlighted lapses and irregularities in the use of public resources in various governmental bodies. The media has so far reported on lapses and irregularities by the Housing Development Board, Land Transport Authority, Ministry of Manpower, Ministry of Education and the National Arts Council.

The media left out the lapse by the Ministry of Home Affairs. So here we are.

80 Cents More

The agreed sum for these volunteer officers were stated in the regulations as being $2.80 per hour. That is equivalent to getting an Ananas Nasi Lemak meal,and a can of soft drink for every hour of work you do.

Good, but not ideal.

Now, the Deputy Commissioner of Police and the Permanent Secretary (Home Affairs) approved a revised rate of $3.60, 80 cents more than the stipulated pay.

Trouble was, they were not authorised under legislation to do so, and their seemingly benign act of raising the pay resulted in an overpayment of $2.63 million over the course of 7 years (April 2007 to December 2015).

Now, that overpayment was not just due to the 80 cent increase in wages, but also because of the reported flouting of the 4-hour work cap.

Regulation states that VSC officers attending any parade shall each be paid an allowance of $2.80 per hour. And a "parade" means "any period of training, duty or attendance of not more than 4 hours".

TL;DR: VSC officers cannot work more than four hours at at a go but they did, and should be paid $2.80/hr but were paid $3.60 instead.

Moral of the story

VSC officers are definitely not doing it for the money.

Top photo from Home Team volunteers

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