Singaporeans call man who robbed his grandmother of S$280K life savings ‘absolutely heartless’

SINGAPORE: With respect for elders being an important value among Singaporeans, as well as with many other Asians, it comes as no surprise that many condemned the actions of a young man who robbed his grandmother of her complete life savings worth S$280,000.

To make matters even worse, he lied to her, saying that she had lost the money through scams.

The 77-year-old grandmother of Adam Ilhan Mohamad Idhamsahbani, 22, who is ill with Parkinson’s disease, had relied on him for help, specifically with online banking. However, when she found out that some of her money had gone missing, Idhamsahbani told her that she had been victimised by a scammer.

Moreover, he also said this to the police when the two lodged a report over the alleged scam.

The Straits Times reported that Idhamsahbani pleaded guilty to one charge of criminal breach of trust and one count of providing false information to a public servant. He was jailed for 20 months and four weeks on April 9.

“In my mind, this is a very serious offence. It does not show you have committed this in a moment of folly. It does not show (that) it was committed because of the immaturity of your mind. It was planned, deliberate,” District Judge Shaiffudin Saruwan said during the sentencing.

Idhamsahbani had used the money stolen from his grandmother to buy a laptop, desktop and printer, as well as to make purchases for online games. He has since paid her back S$100,000.

Netizens commenting on the report have said that Idhamsahbani still owes his grandmother S$180,000 and added that he should be made to pay her back in full.

One called him “wicked” because he “broke her heart and her bank account”.

Another added, “What an evil to have for a grandson. He’s supposed to be filial and take good care of grandma; instead, he used up her money and showed no remorse after that.”

“Absolutely heartless. So sad that he’s done such a thing to his own grandmother. Did he not think that she’d need the money to take care of her own welfare—food, daily expenses, medical bills, medication, etc.? I hope he’ll reflect on the evil deed he’s done and is very remorseful,” one remarked.

Another expressed concern, saying they felt the sentence was insufficient. “Twenty months jail is too light. After seven months, he will be eligible for parole. Where is the justice?” they asked.

“Too short a jail term for deceiving an old woman,” a commenter agreed.

“Deliberate act to cheat and take advantage of own family who trusted him. Deserves a harsher sentence!!” chimed in another.

A Facebook user had another take, writing, “There should be a study on intra-family crime. We have parents abusing and killing their own children, grandfathers abusing granddaughters, and so on. Sometimes, the people doing the worst harm come from within. We educate our youth to be very good workers, but we seem to forget to educate them to be good people.”

/TISG

Read also: Elderly woman duped by online influencer, losing $76,000 in heart-wrenching scam