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SINGAPORE – A 73-year-old woman will have to spend seven months behind bars for allowing criminals to use her bank account to conceal illegal activities.
In total, Jeanne Jennie Aw Soh Tin dealt with criminal conduct proceeds totaling more than $ 300,000.
Aw was sentenced on Thursday (March 4) after she pleaded guilty to three counts of dealing with illicit earnings totaling $ 130,000.
During the sentencing, sixteen other charges related to the remaining amount were considered.
The court heard that after meeting a man on Facebook in 2016, Aw agreed to receive cash into his bank account on his behalf.
In December 2016, a police report was filed against Aw’s bank account, and the victim alleged that payments had been made to the account as a deposit for a loan that never materialized.
Police called her for an interview on August 30, 2017.
They told him that the man, known only as “Vincent”, was a criminal and handed him a warning letter, saying that he should stop receiving instructions from him.
But she didn’t.
Assistant District Attorney Haniza Abnass said that at some point in 2017, a woman took out loans from unlicensed lenders after suffering business losses.
The lenders told the woman to make the repayments to Aw’s bank account. The victim transferred $ 30,000 to him on October 20 of that year.
Vincent then instructed Aw to withdraw the money and give it to his “worker”. He did as he was told and handed the cash to the worker who received it in a Malaysian registered vehicle.
Later that month, Aw received $ 100,000 in total in two deposits. It was from another victim.
Aw handed the money back to Vincent’s worker.
His attorneys, Josephus Tan and Cory Wong of Invictus Law Corporation, told the court that Aw had “fervently believed” that he was helping others out of their difficulties.
“She admitted that she had been ‘too kind and gullible’ and confessed that with advancing age, she has become more prone to suggestions from others,” the attorneys said.
They added that Aw has a mild neurocognitive disorder and may be experiencing the onset of senile dementia.
“We reiterate Madame Aw’s firm instructions to request the summons of her parole suitability report. If not … it is her firm instruction to advocate for a high overall fine,” they said.
Although he received the money, the court heard that he did not benefit financially from his crimes.
DPP Haniza, however, urged the court to sentence Aw to nine months in jail and stressed that the old man had committed a serious crime.
Aw, who is leaning on a cane, sobbed as she was sentenced. His bail was set at $ 20,000 and he was ordered to turn himself in to state courts on April 5 to begin serving his sentence.
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