http://news.asiaone.com/news/singapore/he-dupes-me-he-dupes-me-not
One woman lost $700,000 - her life savings - to a conman.
Mr Paul Yang and his three siblings, whose father died of cancer about seven years ago, are frustrated that neither he nor his siblings can get any more information from his mother, who is in her 60s. They are also hoping that by sharing this story, their mother can finally be convinced to go to the police.
What Mr Yang knows from his maternal aunt is that his mother met her online lover on Facebook in January last year. The man had left a message in her inbox and asked to be friends.
He says: "He claimed to be a Singaporean, who moved to Kuala Lumpur after his divorce left him devastated, and that he was looking for companionship. He also claimed that he missed his children very much and that he envied my mother for having four filial children."
Mr Yang's aunt, 50, who wants to be known only as Madam Goh, says in a phone interview: "My sister felt sorry for him at first. She told me that she finds herself fortunate and that he seemed like a lonely man in a country with no family members."
A month after chatting online regularly, the pair exchanged mobile phone numbers and communicated daily via Whatsapp.
Sometime in August, the man "suddenly vanished" for about three weeks. He did not message or respond to messages on Whatsapp and Facebook.
It was around the same time that Mr Yang and his siblings realised that their mother was "seeing someone".
"She was moping at home, and my sister who lives with her, found out bits and pieces about the 'relationship'," recalls Mr Yang.
In early September, the man resurfaced and messaged Mr Yang's mother.
Madam Goh says: "My sister was so happy that she called me right after. The man said that he had gone to Hong Kong to discuss a food franchise and was hoping to set up business in Kuala Lumpur and he added that he was willing to consider relocating back to Singapore so that he could marry my sister."
The last thing Mt Yang and his siblings expected to find out was that their mother eventually lost all her money - her savings and part of their late father's insurance payout.
Two weeks before Chinese New Year, Madam Goh called Mr Yang with the bad news.
She says: "My sister came over one afternoon and cried her heart out. It was then that she revealed she had transferred all her money to the man, who had told her that he needed the money for the business.
"He had closed down his Facebook account. His mobile phone number was also no longer in use."
Mr Yang maintains that he and his siblings do not blame their mother but wishes that she could open up.
"My mother just keeps mum. Each time we try to raise the issue, she'd just walk off or disconnect the call. We even had to go through her things before we found her bankbook and saw that she had made three transfers totalling $700,000," he says.
When they confronted her, she flew into a rage, packed a bag and left home.
Mr Yang says: "I wish there is something that we could do, but we cannot even make a proper police report because we have such bare details. We don't even know if the man is really a Singaporean as the bank account appears to be a Malaysian account.
"My mother has threatened to kill herself if we continue to try and investigate more."
He pauses for a few seconds, then continues in a weary tone: "But you know what is the worst thing?
"My mother still believes that he will return to her, that all of this is but a misunderstanding.
No comments:
Post a Comment