A man played dead so he could claim Central Provident Fund (CPF) and insurance payouts totalling almost $270,000 - and then blew the whistle on himself to prevent his Indonesian wife from getting her hands on more of his insurance money.
Yesterday, Shamsul Bahri Lamaon, 44, was sent to jail for 42 months for the scam. He admitted to conspiring with his wife, Madam Rima Triyana, and others to deceive the CPF Board into believing he had died of a heart attack in Indonesia. The board released $143,142 to the Public Trustee in 2006 as Shamsul had not nominated a recipient for the funds.
The unemployed man also plotted with his 34-year-old wife and others to cheat Great Eastern (GE) Life Assurance of $125,690 in the same manner.
The money was paid to Madam Rima in October that year. The remainder of the total death claim of $325,940 was intended for Shamsul's son, who was a minor.
In sentencing Shamsul, District Judge Liew Thiam Leng said it was important to deter other like-minded offenders. He noted that two institutions were involved, and that the amount involved was substantial.
In 2004, Shamsul, then an engineer, was posted to work in Jakarta. He owed money to a few financial institutions as a result of credit card debts. Two years later, he quit his job.
His wife then hatched a scheme to fake his death and use fraudulent documents to file claims with the CPF Board and GE. He agreed to go along with it.
They wanted the money to run a business, buy a house and pay for their children's education.
To avoid detection, Shamsul remained in a village at Surade while his wife went about getting the fake documents to show that he had died of a heart attack on April 20, 2006. She then flew to Singapore in August 2006 to make her claims.
Both institutions approved the claims. The CPF Board lodged the money with the Public Trustee pending a claim on the money by Shamsul's next of kin. GE paid Madam Rima her share of the payout.
In January this year, fearing that his wife would get the insurance money meant for his son, Shamsul asked his cousin to alert GE to stop the payment, and to tell the company he was alive.
He was arrested on Feb 4 when he arrived from Jakarta. His wife is at large.
The CPF money was later reinstated to his account.
Pleading for leniency, Shamsul said he was remorseful and did not get a single cent from his wife. He said his mother was taking care of his three children and had difficulty doing all the housework by herself. He could have been jailed for up to seven years and fined on each charge.
This article was first published in The Straits Times on September 25, 2008.
