Yu Mingyan thought he’d found the perfect victim. His 62-year-old friend lay permanently bedridden at Gleneagles Hospital, unable to move or speak. Her phone sat within arm’s reach.
The 34-year-old Singaporean cracked her phone password and Singpass login during hospital visits in June and July 2023. He drained $54,000 from her Central Provident Fund account across three separate withdrawals – $30,000 first, then $20,000, and finally $4,000. Each time, he moved the money to her bank account before transferring it to himself.
The victim’s niece spotted the suspicious transactions and confronted Yu. He played innocent, claiming he was also a victim of unauthorized transfers.
Yu’s lies spiraled deeper in October 2023. He doctored a genuine police report his mother had filed, making it look like he’d reported the CPF thefts in August 2023. He sent this forged document to the niece as “proof” of his innocence.
When the niece kept asking questions, Yu vanished in January 2024. She filed a police report ten months later.
Prosecutors revealed Yu had also stolen undisclosed amounts from the same victim in April 2023, though he later repaid those sums. Yu claimed the victim still had $166,000 left in her account based on what he’d seen, but the judge noted this figure couldn’t be verified.
Loan sharks and petty theft
Yu’s criminal streak didn’t stop at CPF fraud. In October 2023, he borrowed $600 from an unlicensed moneylender. When he couldn’t repay, he agreed to help launder money instead.
He opened a fresh bank account and conducted at least 16 transfers for the loan shark in November 2023. Money flowed in from victims – including a 44-year-old woman repaying illegal loans – and Yu dutifully sent it onward as instructed.
DBS Bank caught on quickly. They flagged Yu’s account for suspicious activity on November 14, 2023, and shut it down.
While working as a physiotherapist assistant at Farrer Park Hospital in July 2024, Yu pocketed $197 from the petty cash box. He told police he did it “out of habit.”
18 months behind bars
District Judge Eddy Tham didn’t mince words on September 8, 2025. He sentenced Yu to 18 months and two weeks in jail, plus a $30,000 fine. If Yu can’t pay the fine, he’ll serve an extra month in prison.
Yu pleaded guilty to two Computer Misuse Act charges for accessing his friend’s phone and Singpass, plus two additional charges for helping the loan shark and stealing petty cash. Two other charges were considered during sentencing.
The judge allowed Yu to defer his sentence until month’s end to sort out work and family matters.
Yu claimed he couldn’t compensate his victim because his earnings support his family. Deputy Public Prosecutor Jeremy Bin confirmed investigators had reviewed Yu’s finances and found he genuinely couldn’t afford repayment.
Judge Tham called Yu’s actions “highly egregious” for exploiting a close friend in dire straits. “Instead of helping your friend, you have betrayed her trust by helping yourself to her CPF monies to alleviate your own problems,” he said. The judge added that Yu showed “no qualms” about stealing money meant for her care and committing forgery to cover his tracks.
