|
HE
trusted a friend who claimed he could help him get a bank loan easily and at
a lower interest rate.
Mr
Sanmuga Many Sanmugam, 35, almost paid a high price for being naive and
trusting.
Not
only did he not get the loan, but he ended up having two maids employed under
his name - without his knowledge.
His
personal details were misused by someone after he handed over photocopies of
some documents and his SingPass password to his friend.
The
photocopies ended up with maid agencies, to process work-permit application
for two maids. His SingPass was used to access his CPF account online to pay
the foreign worker levy.
CURIOUS
The
sales executive's problems began after he sold his four-room HDB flat in
Woodlands in January. As he needed a bank loan to buy another flat, he
approached a friend for help.
'I
had never applied for a bank loan before and I thought my friend could help
me,' said Mr Sanmuga.
'He
said he knew someone working in a bank who could help me get a loan easily
and at a lower interest rate.'
His
friend told him he needed copies of his personal documents and Mr Sanmuga
gave him everything, including his wife's identity card, their marriage
certificate and even copies of their three children's birth certificates.
His
friend also asked Mr Sanmuga for his SingPass - the password for online
transactions with government agencies - so he could check his Central
Provident Fund (CPF) account balance for the bank loan application.
'I
was curious why he needed even the birth certificate copies of my children,
but he said it was necessary for the bank to know my family's background,'
said Mr Sanmuga.
'I
was reluctant to hand over my SingPass, but he told me to trust him.'
Mr
Sanmuga said he had known this friend and his family for a year and had
visited his home, also in Woodlands.
'I
thought everything was all right since I knew where he lived. I was naive to
trust him with my personal information,' he said.
He
became suspicious when a month passed and it became increasingly difficult to
contact his friend.
Finally
in late January, after much hounding, his friend told him the bank had
refused his application.
Mr
Sanmuga demanded back the copies of his personal documents, but his friend
did return them.
'I
quickly changed my SingPass and checked my CPF account, and I was relieved to
find the balance was correct,' he said.
'But
alarm bells went off in my head when he continued to make excuses not to
return the documents,' recalled Mr Sanmuga.
His
worst fears came true when he went back to his previous flat to collect mail
and found an acknowledgement from the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) for the
receipt of a banker's guarantee of $5,000 for a foreign domestic worker.
On
the letter was the name and address of a maid agency, Best Home Employment
Agency.
He
called the agency, and was told someone called 'Geena' had employed a maid on
his behalf, using copies of his documents.
'I
was upset. How could the maid agency allow a third party to apply for a maid
under my name without my signature, with no verification?'
After
his complaint, the agency agreed to cancel the employment of the maid.
He
said his attempts to reach his friend on the phone failed, and he could not
meet him either.
Mr
Sanmuga then lodged a police report to state that he had never applied for a
maid, and that he had given his friend his personal particulars.
But
he was shocked to receive another letter dated 6 Feb from the MOM asking for
outstanding payment of the foreign worker levy.
Then
came yet another letter - from the CPF Board, the fee collection agent for
MOM - informing him that his inter-bank Giro for the domestic foreign worker
levy had been approved.
But
the bank account on the Giro application did not belong to Mr Sanmuga.
When
he went to the CPF Board, another shock awaited him. He found out from an
officer that a second maid was employed under his name.
'I
was angry and frustrated. The situation was worse than I had thought,' said
Mr Sanmuga.
On
31 Mar, two more letters from the MOM informed him of a 'change of address'
for the two maids hired under his name.
Next,
Mr Sanmuga received a payment advice from the CPF Board, indicating someone
had paid the levy in March.
The
final straw was another letter from the CPF Board approving the Giro
application for the second maid.
He
went back to the CPF Board.
After
explaining the matter and handing over a copy of his police report, he was
shown a copy of the original application form.
The
application had been made using his name, but the bank account holder was one
of the maids hired under his name.
'The
application form had her full name, her bank account number, her handphone
number and even her thumbprint,' said Mr Sanmuga.
He
made a second police report.
On
16 Apr, he called the maid's number and convinced her to meet him at
Woodlands MRT station.
'I
explained that I had been cheated and that she had been hired under my
employment without my consent and knowledge,' he said.
'She
said she was living in Toa Payoh with her boyfriend, a Singaporean, but
refused to disclose the exact location,' he said.
'I
told her it was illegal for her to do that since she had been hired under my
name, and persuaded her to meet my wife and me to discuss a way to resolve
the matter.'
She
agreed and Mr Sanmuga called the police.
When
the maid showed up, Mr Sanmuga handed her over to the police.
The
next day, he received a call from a woman identifying herself as the maid
agency owner.
'She
kept insisting on meeting me to settle the matter personally, but I refused,'
he said. He lodged another police report when she repeatedly SMSed him and
called him on his handphone.
The
police confirmed the three reports and said investigations are on.
The
MOM is also investigating the employment agencies involved in the two maids'
foreign worker permit applications.
'I
regret being so naive to give my personal information and my SingPass to
someone I thought was my friend,' he said.
'I
want the public to learn from my bad experience. I thought I could save time
and money, but I ended up wasting a lot more time and energy trying to get
myself out of this mess.'
'I
was curious why he needed even the birth certificate copies of my children,
but he said it was necessary for the bank to know my family's background. I
was reluctant to hand over my SingPass, but he told me to trust him.'
This
article was first published in The New Paper on May 11, 2008.
|
I'm new here,just wants to warn everyone about GSC.
DO not send your car to GSC Auto for any service or repair as many of us have learnt our hard lessons there. To begin, they will try all means to get you to send your car there, via promotion or simply telling you that it will not be too costly to send your car in to check out the problems. Once your car is there, they will start off by saying that further diagnose is required by removal of certain part and it will cost additional $$. Once you fall in for this trick they will follow on to say that certain part of your car may also be having problem or needs certain type of servicing. At any point during this process if they sense that you are reluntant to take up any of their offer, they will use their ever-famous scar tactic on you or offer you another package. This is a workshop to avoid at all cost.
To those unfortunate car owners who have bought the Groupon offer in recent months, please hang around in the workshop during the servicing to ensure that they service your car as per the agreement and handle your car with care. I have observed how bad their PRC workers handled the cars during the servicing and it's definitely not something one would expect from a ISO certified workshop.