Boss cheats low-wage cleaners of $500,000 over three years: Money down the drain
SHE HAS TROUBLE SLEEPING
Madam Chong, 66
Accommodation: She lives in a three-room flat with her husband and two children
How much she gave: $330,950
How much she got back: $2,900
She lost more than $320,000 because she trusted her supervisor.
Madam Chong joined the cleaning company in 2011, which deployed her to Bank of America Merrill Lynch at HarbourFront.
There, the 66-year-oldmet her cleaning supervisor, Goo Pau Hin.
Three other cleaners worked there. Like Madam Chong, they were all elderly, low-wage earners. They nicknamed Goo "Lao Da" (Mandarin for boss) and trusted him.
But that did not stop him from swindling nearly half a million dollars from them.
In 2008, he started gambling heavily and spent most of his salary on it.
To fuel his habit, he soon hatched a fraudulent investment plan to cheat his female subordinates.
He claimed the bank allowed its staff, including cleaners, to invest money to earn attractive interest rates of around 10 to 13 per cent.
When Madam Chong heard that her colleague had also invested, she followed suit.
She first gave him $2,000 in December 2011. After that, she started to give more, encouraged by the "dividends" she got. These were small sums of money that were given out periodically, and were meant to entice and induce the victims to invest more.
Goo took around $330,000 from Madam Chong in total. From December 2011 to March last year, he gave her back $2,900 in dividends.
BANK SLIPS
Said Madam Chong in her victim impact statement: "I had no reason to doubt the investments as Goo always produced a bank slip for my deposits. I have seen these bank slips in my day-to-day job cleaning the bank's premises."
The cleaner lost her life savings and CPF retirement money. She also lost the $45,000 she borrowed from her husband.
She said: "I have been having difficulties coming to terms with the fact that I have been cheated."
She told her children about the scam only on National Day last year, after keeping it to herself for two years.
In her victim impact statement, she said she "had always been careful and prudent with money" and blames herself for the loss.
She lost her appetite and has difficulty sleeping since she learnt she was conned.
She has to keep working as she will face financial difficulties if she retires.
IT COST HER MOST OF HER LIFE SAVINGS
Madam Leong, 78
Accommodation: She lives alone in a rental flat
How much she gave: $141,000
How much she got back: $55,190
Madam Leong, the oldest of the five victims, earns about $1,000 a month and has a daughter who gives her money.
In 2011, Goo told her that the bosses took pity on the cleaners and offered them a good investment deal.
He also promised her that she would eventually get back all her money.
She rejected the offer initially, but caved in when she learnt that her cousin, also another victim of Goo's, received two months of dividends.
Said Madam Leong: "I trusted and believed him."
She continued to trust Goo each time she was approached. He claimed different bosses from different departments had invited her to invest.
Madam Leong did not dare approach any of the bosses: "I, a mere cleaner, was in no position to ask them any questions."
The scam cost her most of her life savings - the fruit of hard work that spans back to the age of 13, when she started working.
GOLD JEWELLERY
She also lost her CPF retirement money and the gold jewellery that she pawned to raise money to invest with Goo.
She had also borrowed $16,000 from a friend for Goo's scheme, but she has since paid it off.
Said Madam Leong: "After I learnt that I was cheated, I feel giddy and will often be in a daze.
"I keep wondering how I became a victim of such an investment scam."
SHE WANTED TO STOP INVESTING
Madam Leong, 69
Accommodation: She lives in a four-room flat with her mute son
How much she gave: $20,000
How much she got back: $13,150
She has five children and one of them is mute and unemployed.
Madam Leong has to pay his medical expenses, on top of the house bills and other debts.
She was told that the bank president gave her the privilege to open an investment account with an interest rate of 10 per cent. She borrowed $10,000 from her friends and paid the rest with her personal savings.
When she wanted to stop in 2011, Goo told her to continue because of her low income. She believed him.
Said Madam Leong: "I am working now, but I will be in financial difficulties if I retire because my bank (account) has no more money."
SHE'S NOW EMOTIONALLY DISTURBED
Madam Sun, 51
Accommodation: She rents a flat with roommates
How much she gave: $40,980
How much she got back: $25,520
She is a Chinese national who was promised 13 per cent yearly interest if she invested with Goo.
Said Madam Sun: "He told us that the president of the Bank (of America) gives us the privilege to open an investment account with the bank and we can earn very high interest rate."
The mother of one, who earns $900 a month from her cleaning job, managed to raise around $40,000 by borrowing from her countrymen.
She said most of her income was spent on the rent for her room and the rest was used for daily expenses.
In 2011, she told Goo that she wanted to stop. She had already been investing for a year.
'LAO DA'
She said: "I told 'Lao Da' that I do not want to invest any more. But he told me to continue as the investment is very good and when I finished my working contract, the bank will pay me back all my money including the interest rate."
She was convinced as she believed Goo and trusted the reputation of the bank.
Madam Sun said she was emotionally disturbed since she found out the truth. She is still paying off her rental arrears.
ABOUT THE CASE
Goo Pau Hin, 52, a cleaning supervisor at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, was sentenced to six years' corrective training for cheating.
Goo had cheated four female cleaners, aged between 51 and 78. He also cheated another male security manager, 36, of the bank. The offences happened between 2010 and last year.
He took about $500,000 from his victims to fund his gambling habit.
He told the cleaners the bank offered them a special interest rate of between 10 to 13 percent, but pocketed most of the deposits instead.
When the women handed him the money, he would ask for a photocopy of their identification cards and bank account details to "add credibility to his claim", court documents said.
Using a stack of pre-printed statement slips he stole from the printer's office of the bank, he would also issue out authentic-looking statement slips for these deposits and dividends.
There were a total of 92 charges of cheating and two charges of theft. Twenty of the cheating charges were proceeded on and the rest were taken into consideration.
In court, District Judge Siva Shanmugam said that the victims were a "vulnerable class of people" and that Goo had "abused his position of trust and authority".
Goo had been convicted of cheating-related offences in 1992, 1994 and 2004.
It costs her most of her life savings
Madam Leong, 78
Accommodation: She lives alone in a rental flat
How much she gave: $141,000
How much she got back: $55,190
Madam Leong, the oldest of the five victims, earns about $1,000 a month and has a daughter who gives her money.
In 2011, Goo told her that the bosses took pity on the cleaners and offered them a good investment deal.
He also promised her that she would eventually get back all her money.
She rejected the offer initially, but caved in when she learnt that her cousin, also another victim of Goo's, received two months of dividends.
Said Madam Leong: "I trusted and believed him."
She continued to trust Goo each time she was approached. He claimed different bosses from different departments had invited her to invest.
Madam Leong did not dare approach any of the bosses: "I, a mere cleaner, was in no position to ask them any questions."
The scam cost her most of her life savings - the fruit of hard work that spans back to the age of 13, when she started working.
GOLD JEWELLERY
She also lost her CPF retirement money and the gold jewellery that she pawned to raise money to invest with Goo.
She had also borrowed $16,000 from a friend for Goo's scheme, but she has since paid it off.
Said Madam Leong: "After I learnt that I was cheated, I feel giddy and will often be in a daze.
"I keep wondering how I became a victim of such an investment scam."
She's now emotionally disturbed
Madam Sun, 51
Accommodation: She rents a flat with roommates
How much she gave: $40,980
How much she got back: $25,520
She is a Chinese national who was promised 13 per cent yearly interest if she invested with Goo.
Said Madam Sun: "He told us that the president of the Bank (of America) gives us the privilege to open an investment account with the bank and we can earn very high interest rate."
The mother of one, who earns $900 a month from her cleaning job, managed to raise around $40,000 by borrowing from her countrymen.
She said most of her income was spent on the rent for her room and the rest was used for daily expenses.
In 2011, she told Goo that she wanted to stop. She had already been investing for a year.
'LAO DA'
She said: "I told 'Lao Da' that I do not want to invest any more. But he told me to continue as the investment is very good and when I finished my working contract, the bank will pay me back all my money including the interest rate."
She was convinced as she believed Goo and trusted the reputation of the bank.
Madam Sun said she was emotionally disturbed since she found out the truth. She is still paying off her rental arrears.
She wanted to stop investing
Madam Leong, 69
Accommodation: She lives in a four-room flat with her mute son
How much she gave: $20,000
How much she got back: $13,150
She has five children and one of them is mute and unemployed.
Madam Leong has to pay his medical expenses, on top of the house bills and other debts.
She was told that the bank president gave her the privilege to open an investment account with an interest rate of 10 per cent. She borrowed $10,000 from her friends and paid the rest with her personal savings.
When she wanted to stop in 2011, Goo told her to continue because of her low income. She believed him.
Said Madam Leong: "I am working now, but I will be in financial difficulties if I retire because my bank (account) has no more money."
ABOUT THE CASE
l Goo Pau Hin, 52, a cleaning supervisor at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, was sentenced to six years' corrective training for cheating.
l Goo had cheated four female cleaners, aged between 51 and 78. He also cheated another male security manager, 36, of the bank. The offences happened between 2010 and last year.
l He took about $500,000 from his victims to fund his gambling habit.
l He told the cleaners the bank offered them a special interest rate of between 10 to 13 percent, but pocketed most of the deposits instead.
l When the women handed him the money, he would ask for a photocopy of their identification cards and bank account details to "add credibility to his claim", court documents said.
l Using a stack of pre-printed statement slips he stole from the printer's office of the bank, he would also issue out authentic-looking statement slips for these deposits and dividends.
l There were a total of 92 charges of cheating and two charges of theft. Twenty of the cheating charges were proceeded on and the rest were taken into consideration.
l In court, District Judge Siva Shanmugam said that the victims were a "vulnerable class of people" and that Goo had "abused his position of trust and authority".
l Goo had been convicted of cheating-related offences in 1992, 1994 and 2004.
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