https://stomp.straitstimes.com/singapore-seen/man-with-dementia-72-meets-young-and-beautiful-foreign-woman-empties-tens-of
Man with dementia, 72, meets young and beautiful foreign woman, empties tens of thousands from CPF
Jaden Darrius Png
TNP
March 19, 2025
A 72-year-old man with dementia apparently fell in love with a foreign woman and has emptied his Central Provident Fund (CPF) savings. He also appears to have bought Google Play Gift Cards.
Ms Huang, 79, told Lianhe Zaobao that her younger brother told her he had met a young and beautiful Taiwanese woman at a local hotel during Chinese New Year.
She later discovered that her brother's monthly rental income of $1,250 was gone and he had borrowed money from the people around him.
His CPF savings, which had tens of thousands of money, were apparently emptied in March.
Ms Huang later found 10 Google Play Gift Cards in her brother's home, leading her to believe he had been scammed.
Google Play Gift Cards are no longer sold in shops in Singapore as of Dec 1, 2020. But they can still be bought online.
Her brother was diagnosed with dementia earlier this year and often spoke incoherently.
He has refused to reveal if he has given any money to the woman.
Ms Huang said: "I suspected that he was cheated, but he couldn't express himself clearly, so it was difficult for me to intervene. I considered hiring a private detective to investigate, but the cost is too high."
She wanted to check her brother's bank records and even called the police, but encountered administrative difficulties.
Currently, one in 10 people aged 60 and above in Singapore suffers from dementia, with the number expected to increase.
Dementia Singapore's Advocacy and Communications director Bernard Lim advises caregivers to pay attention to warning signs, such as unusual financial transactions, sudden financial losses, or abnormal behaviours such as being unusually secretive.
Caregivers should also notify the relevant financial institutions to take additional protective measures, such as setting transaction notifications or withdrawal limits.
The Association of Banks in Singapore shared that they have guidelines for bank frontline staff when it comes to dealing with customers who have dementia, requiring them to pay attention to signs of possible decline in mental capacity.
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