Court rules in favour of OCBC Bank in suit against
elderly woman
SINGAPORE : The High Court on Thursday ruled in favour of
OCBC Bank against an elderly woman who had sued the bank for
freezing her bank accounts containing about S$8.9
million.
But the outcome would not have mattered to Madam Hwang
Cheng Tsu Hsu. The 94-year-old woman died two weeks ago, on May 15.
At that time, the hearing had been concluded and was pending a
decision.
Her money, which was moved into a court account in April last year,
will go to her adopted daughter, Ms Amy Hsu Ann Mei, 44, under the
last will she made in August 2008.
The legal tussle began in May that year when Mdm Hwang and Ms Hsu
went to the bank to open a joint account.
When the application was rejected, Mdm Hwang decided to close all
her accounts at the bank. She sued the bank when it refused to
comply with her request.
On Thursday, Justice Lai Siu Chiu found that OCBC Bank was not in
breach of its contractual duties to Mdm Hwang.
The bank did not have to make payment out of Mdm Hwang's bank
accounts "in the circumstances that prevailed in May 2008 where
there were facts which suggested a serious possibility of
irregularities in the apparent instructions received by the
bank".
In court, bank officers said Mdm Hwang seemed dazed when she
visited the bank and that Ms Hsu did all the talking.
Justice Lai held that OCBC Bank "admirably tried to protect the
interests of Mdm Hwang but instead found itself sued in the
process. By standing its ground, the bank did the right thing and
lived up to its social responsibilities despite the considerable
publicity generated by the trial".
OCBC Bank said in a statement on Thursday that it "is heartened by
the decision of the court as our main objective as a prudent banker
had always remained unchanged, ie. to take reasonable steps to
ensure that the bank acted only in accordance with our client's
valid instructions and not otherwise".
This is not only a legal duty but also a social and moral duty to
take care of and to protect our customers' interest, especially
those who are elderly, the statement said.
In court, bank officers said when they visited Mdm Hwang at her
home days after she had gone to the bank, she could not remember
wanting to open any joint account and gave inconsistent answers to
their questions.
Aside from Alzheimer's, which she was diagnosed with in 2004, Mdm
Hwang also suffered from pneumonia, shingles and other medical
problems.
In December last year, Ms Hsu was appointed by the court to
continue the suit on her behalf.
When the trial opened in January this year, Mdm Hwang could not
testify as her health at the time prevented her from attending
court.
On Thursday, the court ordered costs for the proceedings to be paid
by Ms Hsu personally to OCBC Bank, and such costs to be assessed on
an indemnity basis.
- CNA/al
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