Spotting signs of financial abuse among the elderly in Singapore; why are they so hard to detect?

Singapore’s rapidly ageing population is bringing more instances of elder abuse, with financial rip-offs of older vulnerable folk becoming an issue of concern.

Often, elder abuse is carried out by a family member or a trusted caregiver, according to the Ministry of Social and Family Development.

Mr Chong Yue-En, global chair of the mental capacity special interest group at the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (Step), noted that while there is no clear definition of financial abuse, there are signs that should raise alarm. Some red flags include unexplained cash withdrawals or missing funds and valuables. 

Other clues include the sudden transfer of assets to a family member or someone outside the family, a decline in the elderly person’s living standards, perhaps being deprived of food or proper clothing.

Unpaid household bills are a red flag for lawyer Lim Fung Peen, who heads the private wealth and family practice group at Yuen Law.

The list is not exhaustive. Mr Isaiah Chng, founder and chief executive of ProAge, a social enterprise that organises health and wellness services for seniors and working adults, said one way is to check in on how the elderly person is feeling.

He said that when seniors feel upset, some become more easily agitated. Others do not chat as much as they usually do or do not undertake their daily routine. 

A red flag could be raised if an elderly person who usually meets friends for a coffee in the morning suddenly stops doing so.

Yet despite the range of clues, financial abuse is not easy to spot. 

Mr Chong said people often assume it happens after an elderly person loses mental capacity or is unable to make decisions. 

But in some cases, the abuse may have occurred years before the person was mentally incapacitated.

Because of the insidious nature of financial abuse, Mr Chong said there will always be situations where family members find out about it only after the victim has died. 

He added that he has heard this refrain: “Mum had so much money. I paid for all of mum’s living expenses, all of her hospitalisation bills. But at the end of her life, there is only $1 in her bank account. Where did the money go?”

Mr Chong also noted that financial abuse of the elderly is usually perpetrated by someone who is trusted, such as a family member, a friend or a romantic partner who is not a spouse.

Mr Lim, the lawyer, has handled cases involving the children or in-laws of folk in their 60s or 70 conniving to get their hands on the person’s savings.

The culprit wins the confidence of the senior, gains control of his or her bank accounts and then uses the money for their own purposes, he added.

ProAge’s Mr Chng noted that there will be some seniors in such cases who do not want to report the financial abuse because they do not want to get their children into trouble.

Others may not see the actions as financial abuse. 

“Their children are in distress and they do not have money. They just want to help them,” he added. 

It is dicey when family ties are involved, Mr Chng said.

Source: The Straits Times © SPH Media Limited. Permission required for reproduction.

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