SINGAPORE – A monetary providers supervisor labored collectively with an insurance agent to try to cheat insurance agency Manulife of $1,128.57 by submitting a fraudulent claim.
Silver Huang Hsin Tian, 27, who was a supervisor on the time, pleaded responsible on Tuesday (April 12) to a dishonest cost.
The court docket heard that the cash was not disbursed after Manulife carried out a examine.
At the time of the offence in 2020, Huang was working with Pias, a dealer agency that offers in insurance. Her job scope included promoting insurance insurance policies from completely different corporations to third events.
She dedicated the offence with an alleged confederate, Patricia Quek Puay Yi, now 40, who was then working with insurance agency AIA Singapore.
Court paperwork acknowledged that each ladies had been insurance brokers on the time, however The Straits Times couldn’t discover their names on the General Insurance Association’s web site on Tuesday. Quek’s case continues to be pending.
The court docket heard that Quek was at a resort on June 29, 2020, when she tripped over a barricade rope, fell and injured her proper foot.
Three days later, Huang acquired a textual content from her on messaging platform WhatsApp, stating that she wished to get an “accidental plan”.
Huang then instructed Quek that she dealt with insurance insurance policies below Manulife and the older lady expressed her curiosity in them.
Quek signed the paperwork for a Manulife insurance coverage on July 3 that 12 months and Huang submitted them to the agency.
According to court docket paperwork, each ladies knew that Quek’s accidents pre-dated her software for the Manulife coverage.
Despite this, Huang instructed Quek in a WhatsApp dialog that she might “just try” to claim below the coverage and “see what (happens)”.
The Manulife coverage got here into impact on July 15, 2020, and Quek had surgical procedure on her proper foot 5 days later. She was hospitalised till July 24 that 12 months.
The subsequent day, she instructed Huang that she was discharged.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Daphne Jazreen Chee mentioned: “Patricia knew that she had to point out a date of the accident (that was) after the date on which the Manulife coverage had incepted to ensure that her insurance claim to be thought of.
“She thus told the accused to indicate a false date of the accident on the claim form, and further told the accused to choose a date after the Manulife policy had incepted.”
Huang then stuffed up and submitted an accident and well being claim kind, 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 despatched Quek a letter stating that it couldn’t admit her claim. The letter acknowledged that Manulife had confirmed with United Specialist Centre that her proper foot was handled on July 6 that 12 months, earlier than the coverage inception date.
The damage was due to this fact a pre-existing situation which Manulife was unable to admit, the court docket heard.
The DPP instructed the court docket: “The accused was shocked at Manulife’s degree of rigour in verifying the integrity of the claim and instructed Patricia that she had feigned ignorance when Manulife referred to as her.
“Patricia then encouraged the accused to pretend that she did not know what was going on.”
A Manulife compliance officer alerted the police on Oct 26, 2020.
On Tuesday, the prosecutor urged the court docket to sentence Huang to three weeks’ jail, stressing that the offence was premeditated and Huang was an insurance agent on the time.
Defence lawyer Azri Imran Tan from IRB Law, nevertheless, mentioned that the prosecution’s sentencing place was “manifestly excessive” and requested for his shopper to be given a wonderful as an alternative.
Mr Tan additionally mentioned that Huang had not benefited financially from the offence and Manulife had suffered no monetary loss.
Huang shall be sentenced on April 28.
