A man who stole S$54,000 from his bedridden friend’s Central Provident Fund (CPF) account by misusing her Singpass application was sentenced on Monday (Sep 8) to jail and a fine.
Yu Mingyan, 34, was sentenced to 18 months and two weeks’ jail, and fined S$30,000. He will serve an additional month if he fails to pay the fine. Yu pleaded guilty to two charges under the Computer Misuse Act for accessing his friend’s Singpass without consent, as well as offences involving a loan shark and cash misappropriation. Two other charges were taken into consideration.
The victim, a 62-year-old Singaporean woman, was Yu’s former colleague and close friend. She was permanently warded at Gleneagles Hospital, bedridden and unable to move or speak due to undisclosed medical issues.
Between June and July 2023, Yu visited her on multiple occasions, gained access to her phone by guessing her passwords, and withdrew funds from her CPF to her bank account before transferring them to himself. He took S$30,000 on the first occasion, S$20,000 on the second, and S$4,000 on the third.
The victim’s niece noticed the transfers and questioned Yu, who denied involvement and claimed to be a victim of “unauthorised transactions.” In October 2023, Yu forged a police report by editing one originally made by his mother. He sent the falsified document to the niece to placate her.
Yu was also in debt at the time. After borrowing S$600 from an unlicensed moneylender in October 2023, he failed to keep up with repayments and agreed to facilitate bank transfers instead. He opened a new account and conducted at least 16 transactions on behalf of the syndicate in November 2023. One of the victims, a 44-year-old woman, reported that she had unknowingly made loan repayments to Yu’s account.
According to CNA, his bank account was flagged by DBS for suspicious transactions on Nov 14, 2023 and subsequently closed.
Yu further admitted to pocketing S$197 from a petty cash box at Farrer Park Hospital in July 2024, where he worked as a physiotherapist assistant. He spent the money and later told police he acted “out of habit.”
In court, District Judge Eddy Tham asked if Yu intended to compensate his bedridden friend. Yu said he was financially unable to do so, citing family responsibilities.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Jeremy Bin added that investigations into Yu’s financial records showed he could not afford repayment.
Mr Bin sought at least 16 months’ jail and a S$30,000 fine, calling the offence egregious given the victim’s complete vulnerability and Yu’s misuse of Singpass, a government system meant to protect citizens’ funds. Judge Tham said Yu had “no qualms” about depriving his friend of money she needed for care, calling his conduct a “highly egregious” betrayal of trust.
Yu was allowed to defer his sentence until the end of September to settle personal matters, according to CNA.
Image via Google
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