To find stories about disability benefit 'fraud' worrying

[TheDailyFail]

First of all apologies for the Daily Fail link:
www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2833525/Round-GOLF-caught-benefits-cheat-swindled-10-000-claiming-walk-10-yards.html

As a disabled person with a fluctuating condition the prosecution of this man and others like him really worries me.
The process for claiming disability payments such as PIP is constructed in such a way that you have to answer very narrow yes/no style questions to be entitled to any money. I bet if this man had been allowed to give an open and rounded description of his disability and how it effects his life he wouldn't have fallen foul of the system.
I think anyone who has a fluctuating condition could in theory be prosecuted for fraud. After all the bar for claiming is that your condition has a significant effect on your life for 50% of the time or more.

Medical practitioners have ratified the fact he has serious medical issues.
So AIBU to be horrified that if you are 'caught' on a good day, propped up with pain killers and for which you may take several days recovery you are a criminal?

I bet if this man had been allowed to give an open and rounded description of his disability and how it effects his life he wouldn't have fallen foul of the system.

I'm not a betting man otherwise I'd take you up on it.

Exactly Integration14 - take some medication and look better, except you can't drive/interact with family/stay awake/form a coherent sentence/remember what happened two minutes ago. My DH is screwed because he's positive about it - yeah life is shit but I'll smile - so everyone thinks it's actually ok.

Toby has made a really valid point. Prosecutions cost money so they will only pursue the cases where they are sure they have grounds for it. For the one we hear about in the Daily Fail who has been found guilty there will be 10s or 100s who were investigated but not pursued and 1000s who are genuine claimants

I do think they should go after cheats as it diminishes all those who are genuine and sadly there are some out there