Woman sues son for allegedly misappropriating at least $500k, Latest Singapore News - The New Paper
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Woman sues son for allegedly misappropriating at least $500k

This article is more than 12 months old

In 2007, an Indonesian woman and her oldest son opened a joint bank account in Singapore and deposited nearly US$850,000 ($1.2 million) into it.

The money was subsequently spread over seven accounts held jointly by mother and son.

Now, Madam Lilyana Alwi, 86, is suing her son, 62-year-old Singaporean photographer John Arifin, for allegedly misappropriating at least $500,000 from the accounts.

She contends that all the money belongs to her, while her son says the money was meant to be shared between them.

Madam Lilyana wants the court to allow her to withdraw the remaining money in the accounts, which were frozen by the banks in 2014 due to contradictory instructions given by the two account-holders.

She wants Mr Arifin to account for the sums he allegedly misappropriated, so that she can ascertain how much is to be paid to her.

She also wants him to return jewellery she had allegedly given to him for safekeeping.

Mr Arifin has counterclaimed, asserting he is entitled to half the money. He says all the withdrawals were joint decisions and he is relying on documents signed by his mother to show she had agreed.

As for the jewellery, these had been given to his wife and daughters over the years, he says.

A four-day hearing into the suit started on Tuesday.

The court heard the initial deposit of US$849,581.36 came from the sales proceeds of a property owned by Madam Lilyana's husband, businessman Hasan Arifin, who died in 2010.

Madam Lilyana contends her husband intended to pass the money to her as a gift. She says the couple decided to deposit the money in Singapore.

Her son advised her to open a joint account so he could help her manage the funds, she claims.

In 2014, she discovered that her son had misappropriated the money over the years, she says.

Mr Arifin says his late father told him the money was meant for both mother and son.

He says the withdrawals were to reimburse him for various payments he had made on behalf of his father over the years, including medical insurance and travel expenses.

The move to seek reimbursement followed concerns that his two younger brothers were asking their mother for money, he says.

In 2016, Madam Lilyana won a summary judgment to withdraw half of the remaining funds, after her son admitted that at least 50 per cent of the money was hers.

As of early this year, about $152,000 remains in the accounts.

COURT & CRIME