Tuesday, April 30, 2024

Fraud Claim For S$1,126.57 Singapore

A woman who was an insurance agent when she worked with a financial services manager to try and cheat insurance firm Manulife of $1,128.57 was sentenced to two weeks' jail on Tuesday (May 17). The money was not disbursed after Manulife conducted a check.

Patricia Quek, 40, who pleaded guilty to a cheating charge, committed the offence with Silver Huang, 27. At the time of the offence, Quek was working with AIA Singapore while Huang was employed at Pias, a broker firm that deals in insurance.

Huang was sentenced to one week's jail on May 10 after she pleaded guilty last month to her role in the ruse. Separately, Quek was fined $7,000 on Tuesday over an unrelated drink driving charge. She was also disqualified from driving all classes of vehicles for three years from her date of release.

Fraud Process - Quek was at a hotel on June 29, 2020, when she tripped over a barricade rope, fell and injured her right foot. Three days later, she sent Huang a message via messaging platform WhatsApp, stating that she wished to get an "accidental plan".

Huang then told Quek that she dealt with insurance policies under Manulife and the older woman expressed her interest in them. Quek signed the documents for a Manulife insurance policy on July 3 that year and Huang submitted them to the firm.

Both women knew that Quek's injuries pre-dated her application for the Manulife policy. Despite this, Huang told Quek in a WhatsApp conversation that she could "just try" to claim under the policy and "see what happens".

The Manulife policy came into effect on July 15, 2020, and Quek had surgery on her right foot five days later. She was hospitalised until July 24 that year. The next day, she told Huang via WhatsApp that she had been discharged.

Huang then filled up and submitted an accident and health claim form, falsely stating that the date of the accident was July 18, 2020, to try to induce Manulife to disburse $1,128.57 to Quek.

On Sept 3, 2020, Manulife sent Quek a letter stating that it could not admit her claim. The letter stated that Manulife had confirmed with United Specialist Centre that her right foot was treated on July 6 that year, before the policy inception date.

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