Woman, 73, gets jail for letting criminals use her bank accounts to handle S$130,000

SINGAPORE: Despite the police telling her to stop speaking to a scammer, an elderly woman continued to communicate with a man known only as "Vincent", allowing him to use her bank accounts to handle S$130,000 in criminal proceeds.

Jeanne Jennie Aw Soh Tin, 73, was given seven months' jail on Thursday (Mar 4). She pleaded guilty to three counts of receiving criminal proceeds, with another 16 charges taken into consideration.

The defence said the mother of two wanted only to help others out as she is a devout Catholic, and did not take a single cent of the criminal proceeds. She also gave away large sums of her own money to the scammers and has had to take up two jobs despite retiring from a bank years ago and being given a golden handshake.

Aw, who sobbed repeatedly throughout the hearing, befriended "Vincent" on Facebook in 2016. She later agreed to receive and remit money to him on his instructions.

In December 2016, the police received a report against Aw's POSB account, as a victim alleged that they had transferred money to that account as a deposit for a loan that never materialised.

When Aw was called up by the police for an interview, she was told that Vincent was a scammer and advised against helping him any further. The police also issued her a letter of advisory containing these instructions.

However, Aw continued to help Vincent over 19 occasions, setting up an OCBC bank account to do so. The victims include people who had turned to loan sharks and were instructed to make repayments to Aw's account.

One victim transferred S$100,000 in total to Aw after being scammed by a man who claimed he needed money to start a business. 

The prosecutor asked for nine months' jail, saying that the total amount involved across all charges was S$300,000, with at least six victims involved.

Defence lawyer Cory Wong of Invictus Law asked instead for probation or a fine on his client's instructions, citing a medical report that said Aw had mild neurocognitive disorder and may be experiencing the onset of senile dementia.

Mr Wong said Aw is "gullible and suggestible" and that the scammers used this to "condition her into their unwitting money mule".

"There is no evidence to suggest that she pocketed a single dollar and lined her own pockets ... instead, the reality is - she herself lost a lot of money," said Mr Wong.

He said she had received a golden handshake from her previous job for her retirement but has lost all the money. He said his client is "a very pious Catholic" who cannot bear to see people suffer in poverty.

She has no previous convictions and now holds two jobs - at a restaurant and a hotel - to stay afloat, said Mr Wong.

The prosecutor said the Institute of Mental Health had indicated issues with the medical report relied on by the defence, and added that it is not clear that Aw suffered from dementia at the time of the offence.

She added that the prisons have indicated that "they are able to care for any persons with medical and psychological conditions".

The judge said she had considered all facts including the plea of guilt, Aw's age and medical conditions, and her lack of financial benefit from the crimes. 

Nevertheless, the offences are serious ones, said the judge. She allowed Aw to defer her jail term till after Good Friday and to surrender on Apr 5.