Ethical concerns in dealing with elderly investors

SINGAPORE'S population is ageing rapidly. By 2030, the number of seniors aged 65 years and above will nearly double to over 900,000. Many people often find themselves only starting to save and plan for retirement late in their working years. With a shorter runway to grow their retirement funds, some people may look to invest more aggressively, or worse, not do their homework when evaluating "too good to be true" investment opportunities from smooth-talking investment representatives or dubious operators.

According to the Singapore Police Force, at least S$99 million was lost to scammers through various forms of fraud in 2017. One group of investors continues to be targeted - elderly people - even as the police force and consumer advocacy groups issue warnings to be on the alert against financial crime. Elderly people are usually vulnerable targets of financial scams as they are invariably thought to own significant sums of money, and have declining cognitive functions or poorer decision-making skills.

Readers may recall the case of the former China tour guide Yang Yin who had his jail term extended from six years to nine years in March 2017 for cheating wealthy widow Madam Chung Khin Chun, then living in a single-storey bungalow at Gerald Crescent. Yang acted as a private tour guide for Madam Chung and her friend when they went to Beijing for a holiday in 2008. Their relationship grew closer and he moved into her home in 2009. Yang succeeded in gaining her complete trust, claiming that Madam Chung regarded him as the "grandson" she never had. The following year in 2010, he was named as the sole beneficiary of her inheritance in a will and subsequently in 2012, was given a lasting power of attorney (LPA) by Madam Chung to manage her welfare and financial affairs.