ATM withdrawal fund: Man pocketed retiree's money

An 84-year-old retiree with health problems and difficulty walking placed his trust in a friend from a Senior Citizens Centre to help him withdraw $350 a month from his POSB account.

But part-time cleaner Lee Teck Huat, 57, repaid Mr Yap Chen Bock's faith by withdrawing an extra $100 to $200 for himself over seven months.

In all, he pocketed $1,100 from February this year and was jailed for two weeks yesterday after admitting to three of eight charges.

The court heard that the duo met last year at the centre at Block 15, Lorong 7 Toa Payoh, where Lee worked.

Mr Yap receives $450 a month from the Government and sought Lee's help to withdraw $350 of it as he has no family members to help him out.

Mr Yap would hand his POSB ATM card and passbook to Lee every month.

In September this year, Mr Yap realised that Lee's attitude towards him was "bad". He suspected that Lee might have taken money from his bank account.

He told a nurse from Touch Community Services about his suspicions.

The nurse looked through his passbook and discovered that Lee had withdrawn more than $350 from the account on various occasions, but none of the excess money went to Mr Yap. He lodged a police report.

Lee has since returned all the money he took.

Lee, who had a theft conviction 10 years ago, could have been jailed for up to seven years and/or fined on each charge of criminal breach of trust.

elena@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on Dec 17, 2014.
Get a copy of The Straits Times or go to straitstimes.com for more stories.