Its my money, why can't i have it?

[Ginchiyo Tachibana]

OCBC 'did its duty'

Singapore
Home > Breaking News > Singapore > Story
Jan 27, 2010

SUIT AGAINST OCBC
OCBC 'did its duty'

But says OCBC should have gone further to investigate relationship

<!-- by line --> By Selina Lum

A WOMAN, whose 93-year-old adoptive mother has sued OCBC Bank for freezing her bank accounts, yesterday conceded that the bank was justified in being suspicious when the two women went to open a joint account nearly two years ago. The bank refused their application, doubting the elderly woman's mental competence to manage her financial affairs. But Ms Amy Hsu Ann Mei, 44, said that the bank in its prudence should have found out more about their mother-daughter relationship.

'If they are suspicious of me, they should find out who I am... the number of years I spent with my mum, how long my mum and I lived together, the number of years she raised me,' said Ms Hsu, under cross-examination by the bank's lawyer. Adopted by Madam Hwang Cheng Tsu Hsu at a young age, Ms Hsu is the only child of the retired teacher. As Madam Hwang's health deteriorated last year, Ms Hsu was ordered by the court to be her mother's legal representative to continue the suit against OCBC for freezing her accounts containing $8.9 million.

Read the full report in Wednesday's edition of The Straits Times.

 

[Starving.Artist]

Re: OCBC 'did its duty'

you know what i think is sad... that you are in your 90's and you still have 8-9 mil in the bank... if i was hitting 90 i would have tried my best to draw down at least 5 mil of it, if not more on wine women and song...

 

[streetcry]

SINGAPORE : When 94-year-old Madam Hwang Cheng Tsu Hsu suffered a hip fracture in February 2008 and her medication caused her to sign inconsistently on her cheques, her adopted daughter decided to open a joint account to help with Mdm Hwang's finances.

They tried to open a joint bank account in OCBC bank in May 2008 but the bank declined as it was Ms Amy Hsu Ann Mei who was giving the instructions and not Mdm Hwang.

Later in the month, the two went to OCBC to close down Mdm Hwang's account which contained $8.8 million.

OCBC staff wanted to interview Mdm Hwang alone before they allowed the request but Ms Hsu refused the interview.

Ms Hsu subsequently sent lawyer letters to the bank to ask for her mother's account to be closed but the bank refused, saying it was concerned that Mdm Hwang might not have the mental capacity to provide instructions to close the account.

Mdm Hwang was diagnosed with dementia in 2004 and is suffering from pneumonia, shingles and other medical problems.

She has sued OCBC for freezing her accounts but will not be testifying in the suit which started on Monday because her health has worsened.

On Tuesday, Ms Hsu took the stand to give her testimony.

In cross-examination by OCBC's lawyer Adrian Wong, the 44-year-old acknowledged OCBC's concerns about fraud against elders but was upset that the bank "did not do enough".

Said Ms Hsu: "They didn't do enough to find out who I am. They should talk to me, my mother and both of us together. They should find out about myself and our relationship with my mother."

She added: "Whatever I did, I did it from my heart. I did it for my mother."

Saying that the case has taken a heavy toll on her mother's health, Ms Hsu elaborated: "She was constantly worrying whether she will ever get back her money. It is also her ultimate wish to be able to enjoy her years of hard-earned money and savings while she is still fit and able."

Ms Hsu also said that her mother and her wanted to invest $6 million in two apartments in prime locations when property prices plummeted during the first half of last year.

The mother and daughter planned to buy two units at De-Centurion at Tanjong Rhu Road, one for Ms Hsu to stay in and one for rental.

"Our hopes for investing in the property market could not be realised because OCBC had locked in all my mother's funds," said Ms Hsu.

She will continue to take the stand on Wednesday. - TODAY

 

[Ginchiyo Tachibana]

Report withheld

Singapore
Home > Breaking News > Singapore > Story
Jan 27, 2010

SUIT AGAINST OCBC
Report withheld

<!-- by line --> By Selina Lum
<!-- end left side bar --> <!-- story content : start -->
THE woman whose 93-year-old adoptive mother has taken OCBC Bank to court for freezing her accounts conceded that the decision to sue was unreasonable - but insisted her mother still had a case against the bank. Ms Amy Hsu Ann Mei, who was on the stand for the second day on Wednesday, was grilled by OCBC's lawyer Adrian Wong. He made the point that the bank had to freeze the accounts as its requests for a report on the mental competence of Madam Hwang Cheng Tsu Hsu were ignored. The lawyer also contended that it was Ms Hsu - not her dementia-afflicted mother - who made the decision to sue. Ms Hsu, 44, rejected the suggestion.

The legal spat between Madam Hwang, a retired teacher, and OCBC arose after the bank rejected attempts by the elderly woman and her daughter to open a joint account in 2008. Later, the bank refused to comply with Madam Hwang's demands to close the account. It then froze the money. The bank says in its defence that it was merely acting as prudent bankers as its officers had concerns about Madam Hwang's mental capacity to handle her financial affairs. As Madam Hwang is now too ill to go to court, Ms Hsu has been ordered to continue the suit on her behalf.

Read the full report in Thursday's edition of The Straits Times.

 

[STUCK_HERE]

OCBC is a very good bank when it comes to security and fraud. I have witness it a few times with my own credit card.

Why they care about the $8.8M? It is pittance to them. But they decided to go to court to publicize it, just to protect their image and also the woman's money.

They could always relent and let the money be drawn out and wash their hands of this case. What is $8.8M to them????

 

[tonychat]

nice to see an unsinkified bank.. clap clap..

 

[jw5]

We don't know what the daughter's intentions are and we don't know why the elderly lady did not make any prior arrangements.
But I think that the bank should address the following points:
1. Why did the bank refuse to allow the joint signatory account, after the bank's relationship manager had apparently suggested this to the mother and daughter?
2. Why did the bank send the bank statements to the elderly lady's niece, as reported in the newspapers?
3. Since the bank has now refused to open the joing account and refused to allow the withdrawal, what is their next suggestion? Is the bank saying that the money cannot be touched while the elderly lady is alive?

 

[Ginchiyo Tachibana]

$18,000 expenses questioned

Singapore
Home > Breaking News > Singapore > Story
Jan 28, 2010

$18,000 expenses questioned

<!-- by line --> By Selina Lum
<!-- end left side bar --> <!-- story content : start -->
THE judge hearing the suit brought by a 93-year-old woman against OCBC on Thursday expressed scepticism over why the elderly woman needed monthly expenses of $18,000, including payments for her adopted daughter and her husband. It was Ms Amy Hsu Ann Mei's third day on the stand in the suit that Madam Hwang Cheng Tsu Hsu has brought against OCBC for freezing her accounts containing $8.9 million. OCBC's lawyer, Mr Adrian Wong, was trying to establish that Ms Hsu was unduly influencing her mother. Between March and August 2008, Madam Hwang changed her will three times. One will was made in May, when the person authorised to act on her behalf was changed from her nephew, senior lawyer Michael Hwang, to Ms Hsu. Mr Wong brought up the fact that before the trial, Madam Hwang had applied for $18,000 to be paid out a month for living expenses. This included $3,600 for Ms Hsu as her caregiver, $2,000 for a 'driver', who was Ms Hsu's husband, and Ms Hsu's phone bills and club memberships.

Read the full report in Friday's edition of The Straits Times.

 

[shelltox]

i think that MAS has to be informed for any large amount of money transacted.

 

[Shin Orochi]

She couldn't tap cash for repairs


<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="789"><tbody><tr> <td colspan="3" height="26"></td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" width="5"></td> <td colspan="2" valign="top" width="784"> She couldn't tap cash for repairs
By Ong Dai Lin, TODAY | Posted: 03 February 2010 0657 hrs
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SINGAPORE: The four water heaters in her house were almost corroded beyond repair and water was leaking through the floor and walls. The door of a cabinet fell onto one of the maids because it was spoilt by the water leaks.

Although 94-year-old Madam Hwang Cheng Tsu Hsu had the money to repair the damages, she could not utilise it. Her adopted daughter, Ms Amy Hsu Ann Mei, told the court on Tuesday that she had to pay for the repair expenses which came up to $2,900.

Mdm Hwang is engaged in a lawsuit with OCBC bank because the latter refuses to let her close her account which contained $8.9 million in May 2008.

Since March last year, the money has been transferred to the High Court to be kept in a special account, pending the outcome of the suit. Money can only be drawn out for Mdm Hwang's expenses with the court's permission.

When Ms Hsu tried to claim the repair expenses, these were not approved by the High Court, she said on the stand on Tuesday. An agitated Ms Hsu said: "This is not even a luxury item ... In the end, I couldn't wait. I just paid out first. My mother's house is in danger." OCBC claims it refused Madam Hwang's application to close her account, as she did not seem to have the mental capacity.

The bank was also suspicious because just weeks before she wanted to close the account, Mdm Hwang and Ms Hsu wanted to open a joint account together. The application was also rejected, as the bank was doubtful of Mdm Hwang's mental competence. Mdm Hwang has dementia and is suffering from pneumonia, shingles and other medical problems.

On Tuesday, Ms Hsu showed pictures of her and her mother spending time together in 2008 to prove that the two had a close relationship. A clinical psychologist who assessed Mdm Hwang in March 2008 also took the stand. Dr Zena Kang said that although Mdm Hwang had a deficit in short-term memory, she was "alert, lucid and responsive to all questions" and "did not appear to have cognitive disturbances".

The hearing continues. - TODAY




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