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Oct 10, 2010
$6.5m insurance scam
'First of its kind' case spins web of deceit that includes fake policy and forged signatures
By Lorna Tan, Senior Correspondent
Unique circumstances
Mr Stanley Jeremiah, president of the Singapore Insurance Institute, said that he has never heard of an agent selling a non-existent product.
'I've heard of agents who pocketed the premiums before disappearing or buying some other policy that the client didn't agree to.'
Police and insurance giant AIA are investigating claims by a businessman that his insurance agent sold him a non-existent insurance policy that cost a whopping S$6.5 million. -- ST PHOTO: AIDAH RAUF
THE police and insurance giant AIA are investigating claims by a semi-retired Indonesian businessman that his insurance agent sold him a non-existent insurance policy that cost a whopping US$5 million (S$6.5 million). The sensational case, which industry experts say is the first of its kind in Singapore, is currently before the courts.
The businessman, Mr Ong Han Ling, 72, is suing the agent, Ms Sally Low Ai Ming, for about $3.6 million plus loss of use of his funds. The $3.6 million is the amount left outstanding after the agent made restitution for some of the policy premiums. In her defence, 33-year-old Ms Low, who was sacked by AIA in September last year, has alleged that the fake insurance plan - called the 'AIA Thank You Policy' - was part of an elaborate ploy conceived by Mr Ong to defraud AIA. She claimed she was merely an accomplice.
The Sunday Times obtained legal documents filed by both parties and they revealed intriguing claims that included a fake policy schedule and forged letters from AIA officials such as Mr Mark O'Dell, then the insurer's general manager in Singapore. In his suit, Mr Ong said that the trouble began when he and his wife Enny Ariandini Pramana, 71, bought several policies from Ms Low, from 2000. Over time, Ms Low became a trusted friend to the Ong family and visited their home in Scotts Road regularly, he added.
