A woman in Brazil was arrested on April 16 after she allegedly took a dead man to a bank to sign off on a 17,000 reais (S$4,400) loan, according to Brazilian media.

Ms Erika de Souza Vieira Nunes was arrested after taking the body of 68-year-old Paulo Roberto Braga in a wheelchair to a bank branch in Bangu, a neighbourhood in Rio de Janeiro, Brazilian newspaper O Globo reported.

A video of Ms Nunes trying to make the transaction, filmed by a bank employee who sensed something was amiss, made the rounds on social media after her arrest.

In the video, Ms Nunes can be seen speaking to Mr Braga, who has a pale complexion and whose eyes appear to be closed – at times holding the man’s head upright.

“Uncle, are you listening? You have to sign it. I can’t sign for you,” she says as she places a pen between his fingers, reported O Globo.

She is subsequently heard saying to the dead man: “Sign here and stop giving me a headache.”

A bank employee can be heard telling the woman: “I don’t think this is legal. He doesn’t look well. He’s very pale.”

Reuters reported that Ms Nunes responded by saying: “He doesn’t say anything, that’s just how he is.”

The bizarre scene raised alarm among staff at the bank, who immediately called for an ambulance and the police.

The woman, who claimed to be Mr Braga’s niece and carer, was later arrested at the bank.

According to Brazilian news outlets, the region’s police chief Fabio Luiz said Mr Braga had died a few hours before the incident. The cause of death was not made public. 

The authorities said they were checking closed-circuit television cameras inside and outside the bank to determine if the woman acted alone or with other accomplices.

“The investigation is continuing to identify other family members and to find out if he was alive when the loan was arranged and when it dates from,” he said.

In a similar case in the United States in March, two women in Ohio faced charges after they allegedly drove a dead man to a bank to withdraw US$900 (S$1,200) from his account.

After withdrawing the sum, the women dropped the body off at an emergency room at Ashtabula County Medical Centre without identifying the dead man or themselves.