A Singaporean man has been sentenced to 18 months and two weeks in prison for siphoning a total of S$54,000 (approximately RM177,000) from the Central Provident Fund (CPF) account of a bedridden 62-year-old friend, whom he visited in hospital.
Yu Mingyan, a former colleague and close friend of the victim, exploited her inability to move or speak while she was permanently warded at Gleneagles Hospital. Court documents revealed that Yu visited her on three separate occasions in June and July 2023, and withdrew S$30,000, S$20,000, and S$4,000, respectively, after correctly guessing her phone and app passwords.
When confronted by the victim’s niece about the missing funds, Yu feigned ignorance and claimed he was also a victim of the alleged unauthorized withdrawals. To support his claims, he forged a police report dated August 2023 and sent it to the niece in October 2023.
Yu was also involved in assisting loan sharks. In October 2023, he borrowed S$600 (approx. RM1,970) and fell behind on repayments, later making 16 bank transfers on behalf of the loan sharks before the account was flagged and frozen by DBS.
Additionally, Yu was found to have stolen S$197 (approx. RM646) from petty cash at Farrer Park Hospital, where he worked as a physiotherapy assistant in July 2024. He admitted to police that the theft was “out of habit.”
Yu faced six charges in total, including stealing his friend’s CPF funds, assisting loan sharks, and petty cash theft. He pleaded guilty to four charges, two under the Computer Misuse Act. He was fined S$30,000, with an extra month in jail if unable to pay.
During sentencing, the judge condemned Yu’s actions as “highly egregious,” criticizing him for betraying his friend’s trust, stealing funds meant for her care, and resorting to forgery to cover up his crime.
