Man who accessed hospitalised friend's CPF funds jailed

He used her phone to transfer $54k to her bank account, then sent the money to his account

- Shaffiq Alkhatib

While visiting his bedridden friend who was in hospital and unable to speak, a man used her mobile phone to unlawfully access her Central Provident Fund (CPF) account and transferred $54,000 to her bank account.

Yu Mingyan then transferred the 62-year-old woman's money to his own bank account.

Yu, 34, who committed the offences after correctly guessing her passwords, was sentenced to 18 months and two weeks' jail and a fine of $30,000 on Sept 8.

He will spend an additional month behind bars if he fails to pay the fine.

The Singaporean pleaded guilty to two counts of misusing a computer system.

Yu also admitted to two other unrelated charges — one count each of helping to carry on the business of an unlicensed moneylender and misappropriating $197 from his then workplace.

When caught, he told police investigators that he had misappropriated the money "out of habit".