SINGAPORE - Former tour guide Yang Yin has been ordered by the High Court to prove that the money in several bank accounts which have been frozen belongs to him.
The 40-year-old Yang, who is currently in remand after being charged for fraud and criminal breach of trust, had asked the court to allow him to withdraw $12,000 a month for expenses. The money is supposed to come from the $1.13 million in four OCBC bank accounts under his name.
But Madam Hedy Mok, the niece of rich widow Madam Chun Khin Chung, is objecting to the withdrawals because she alleges the money belongs to her aunt.
On Thursday, the High Court ordered Yang to prove that he has the rights to the funds, said his lawyer Joseph Liow after a hour-long closed-door hearing.
"He has until March 26 to file an affidavit," said Mr Liow.
The Singapore permanent resident's assets were frozen in August last year after Madam Mok accused him of plotting to take over her aunt's assets, estimated to be worth $40 million. The assets include a $30 million bungalow in Gerald Crescent off Yio Chu Kang Road.
Madam Chung met Yang in 2008 while he was her tour guide in China. The next year, he moved into her bungalow.
In 2010, she made a will leaving him all her assets, including the bungalow. Yang claims the widow, who has no children and whose husband died in 2007, treated him like a grandson. Two years later, she granted him a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) which gave him control over her assets.
Madam Mok has sued Yang for allegedly breaching his duties under the LPA, which was revoked last November.
Madam Chung has also made a new will which leaves her fortune to charity. Her niece has filed it with the Family Court and asked the court to execute it on her aunt's behalf.
Besides the civil court cases brought by Madam Mok, Yang also faces more than 300 criminal charges of faking receipts issued by his music and dance company.
The two most serious charges are two counts of criminal breach of trust offences which he was alleged to have misappropriated $1.1 million from Madam Chung.
