CAD 'seeks release' of assets in Yang Yin's case
PUBLISHED ONMay 06, 2015 1:17 AM
IN A fresh twist, the Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) has got involved in a High Court case involving former China tour guide Yang Yin.
Last month, the High Court allowed Yang to liquidate two life insurance policies worth about $98,000 to pay for his legal fees.
But in a closed-door hearing yesterday, the CAD told the High Court that it had seized both policies for criminal investigations last year and that they could not be released yet.
Following the closed-door hearing, Yang's lawyer Joseph Liow said that the CAD had filed an affidavit with the State Courts for the assets to be released. A magistrate's hearing on the matter will be held at a later date in the State Courts.
But even if this is settled in Yang's favour, the 41-year-old still faces another battle to liquidate the policies. Hedy Mok, a 61-year-old tour agency owner, has filed an appeal against the court's earlier decision to allow Yang to liquidate them.
Madam Mok has accused Yang of manipulating her 88-year-old aunt Chung Khin Chun.
Yang met Madam Chung in Beijing when he acted as her private tour guide in 2008. A year later, he moved into her bungalow.
In 2012, he was given the right to manage her assets and welfare under the Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) scheme. But last September, Madam Mok evicted Yang and his family from the bungalow and started a series of proceedings against him.
Two months later, a court revoked the LPA.
Yang now faces more than 300 charges in total, including two criminal breach of trust charges for allegedly misappropriating $1.1 million from the wealthy widow.
He has been in remand since Oct 31 last year.
This article by The Straits Times was published in MyPaper, a free, bilingual newspaper published by Singapore Press Holdings.