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Saturday 3 January 2009
Woman Allowed $11,300 Monthly Spending
An elderly woman, 92, whose $8.9 million account has been frozen by OCBC Bank pending a psychiatric test, has been allowed to take $11,300 a month from her account by the High Court.
An elderly woman, 92, whose $8.9 million account has been frozen by OCBC Bank pending a psychiatric test, has been allowed to take $11,300 a month from her account by the High Court.
In a closed-door hearing yesterday, Madam Hwang Cheng Tsu Hsu’s lawyer, Mr. Andrew Ee, argued for the bank to release $18,000 for her monthly household expenses.
OCBC’s lawyer, Mr. Adrian Wong, did not oppose the application for the funds to be released but pointed out discrepancies in certain items.
In the end, Justice Judith Prakash knocked $6,700 off the list of expenses.
The judge turned down her request for $1,000 a month to replace the furniture and fixtures at her Mandarin Gardens apartment, which is rented out.
The judge also reduced the $3,600 given to Madam Hwang’s adopted daughter to $1,600; reduced Madam Hwang’s request of $3,000 for entertainment and holidays by $2,000; and halved her driver’s $2,000 salary.
But the court agreed that she should be allowed other expenses, such as $1,000 for groceries, $1,000 for toiletries, $1,000 for restaurant outings and $710 for medical check-ups. Provision was also made for other items, such as the maid levy and property-related expenses.
The payment of $11,300 is to be made on the first business day of each month, starting this year, and will continue until the lawsuit is resolved or any further court orders are made.
Madam Hwang took OCBC to court in August after the bank froze her account and refused to let her touch her money. The dispute began when the 92-year-old, accompanied by her 43-year-old adopted daughter, went to the bank in May to close her account, only to be turned down.
Later, the bank said in a letter that it had doubts about whether she was mentally fit to manage her financial affairs.
OCBC said it was acting prudently and refused to accept any instructions on any of Madam Hwang’s accounts until she was shown to be mentally fit.
Despite objections by Mr. Ee, OCBC succeeded last month in getting a High Court order for the elderly woman to be examined by an independent psychiatrist.
At an earlier hearing, Mr. Wong had questioned if Madam Hwang was the one driving the lawsuit, as it made no sense for her to object vigorously to a psychiatric test if she was indeed mentally fit.
No date has been set for the psychiatric test but it could take place as early as this month.
1 comment:
Woman Allowed $11,300 Monthly Spending
Selina Lum
1 January 2009
An elderly woman, 92, whose $8.9 million account has been frozen by OCBC Bank pending a psychiatric test, has been allowed to take $11,300 a month from her account by the High Court.
In a closed-door hearing yesterday, Madam Hwang Cheng Tsu Hsu’s lawyer, Mr. Andrew Ee, argued for the bank to release $18,000 for her monthly household expenses.
OCBC’s lawyer, Mr. Adrian Wong, did not oppose the application for the funds to be released but pointed out discrepancies in certain items.
In the end, Justice Judith Prakash knocked $6,700 off the list of expenses.
The judge turned down her request for $1,000 a month to replace the furniture and fixtures at her Mandarin Gardens apartment, which is rented out.
The judge also reduced the $3,600 given to Madam Hwang’s adopted daughter to $1,600; reduced Madam Hwang’s request of $3,000 for entertainment and holidays by $2,000; and halved her driver’s $2,000 salary.
But the court agreed that she should be allowed other expenses, such as $1,000 for groceries, $1,000 for toiletries, $1,000 for restaurant outings and $710 for medical check-ups. Provision was also made for other items, such as the maid levy and property-related expenses.
The payment of $11,300 is to be made on the first business day of each month, starting this year, and will continue until the lawsuit is resolved or any further court orders are made.
Madam Hwang took OCBC to court in August after the bank froze her account and refused to let her touch her money. The dispute began when the 92-year-old, accompanied by her 43-year-old adopted daughter, went to the bank in May to close her account, only to be turned down.
Later, the bank said in a letter that it had doubts about whether she was mentally fit to manage her financial affairs.
OCBC said it was acting prudently and refused to accept any instructions on any of Madam Hwang’s accounts until she was shown to be mentally fit.
Despite objections by Mr. Ee, OCBC succeeded last month in getting a High Court order for the elderly woman to be examined by an independent psychiatrist.
At an earlier hearing, Mr. Wong had questioned if Madam Hwang was the one driving the lawsuit, as it made no sense for her to object vigorously to a psychiatric test if she was indeed mentally fit.
No date has been set for the psychiatric test but it could take place as early as this month.
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