12-05-2011, 09:03 AM
A very sad case of fraud and deceit. She was interviewed by Me & My Money back in 2001!
May 11, 2011
Ex-AIA agent charged over fake $6.2m policy
She faces 19 charges; bail cut from $2m to $300k on appeal
By Lorna Tan, Senior Correspondent
Sally Low Ai Ming, 34, allegedly told a businessman he could apply for an "AIA Thank You" policy when such a product did not exist. This led him to remit US$5.06 million to AIA. -- ST FILE PHOTO
A FORMER AIA insurance agent who allegedly sold a fake US$5 million (S$6.2 million) insurance policy is facing fraud and cheating charges, including using forged documents.
The charges were laid against Sally Low Ai Ming, 34, at the Subordinate Court last Friday and bail set at $2 million. She failed to raise the cash and was remanded at Changi Women's Prison.
She broke down when she appeared in court yesterday to ask that the bail be reduced to $200,000. Her mother also cried. Bail was revised to $300,000 but Low has to surrender her passport and report weekly to the authorities.
The charges - four of cheating, 11 of fraudulent use of forged documents and four of moving crime proceeds to bank accounts and to partially pay for a property - stem from a police report made more than a year ago by a customer who bought a fake 'AIA Thank You' policy from Low in November 2002.
Low allegedly told semi-retired businessman Ong Han Ling, 72, that he could apply for the policy when she knew such a product did not exist. The act of deception led him to remit US$5.06 million to AIA, according to the charge sheet.
Low also allegedly told Mr Ong that two computer errors at AIA caused three policies to be issued in his name and that of his wife. It is claimed that Low then caused these policies to be surrendered and the three sums - about US$5.29 million, US$1 million and $1 million - were delivered to her on behalf of AIA.
There were in fact no computer errors.
The 11 fraud charges include using forged AIA documents such as sales illustration forms, application forms, a letter of confirmation and a statement of account.
Low was also charged with transferring the crime proceeds to a bank account outside Singapore and to another person's account, and using the money to fund a down payment on a Sentosa Cove condo.
The 'Thank You' policy was supposed to make a maturity payout - which included annual fixed returns of up to 7 per cent - after five years.
Mr Ong, who is also pursuing a civil suit against Low, alleges that she used the premium meant for the 'Thank You' policy to buy four AIA plans under his name and that of his wife and their daughter, all without their knowledge.
Mr Ong is suing Low for about $3.6 million plus the loss of use of his funds.
The $3.6 million is the amount outstanding after Low made restitution to Mr Ong for payouts due to him under the policies she had taken out in his name.
In March last year, Mr Ong's lawyers had obtained an injunction to freeze Low's assets. These included proceeds from the sale of a condominium in Cairnhill and funds in several bank accounts in Singapore and Indonesia.
In his lawsuit, Mr Ong said he found out from AIA that the 'Thank You' policy was fake only when he made inquiries about the maturity payouts due in January 2008.
Low has counterclaimed, alleging in court documents that she was merely an accomplice in an elaborate ploy conceived by Mr Ong to defraud AIA.
She said she had approached Mr Ong to buy more policies in 2002 in order to further her ambition of becoming a top agent but he devised a plan to defraud AIA and share half the gains.
A former top agent at AIA, Low earned more than $300,000 in annual commissions from new policies in 1999 and 2000. She was sacked by the insurer in September 2009.
lorna@sph.com.sg
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Insurance agent was a high-flier
A former high-flying agent at insurer AIA, Ms Sally Low Ai Ming was profiled in a rags-to-riches story by The Sunday Times in March 2001.
She was 24 then, and hailed as 'one of the world's youngest and most successful insurance agents'.
The story told of the meteoric rise in her insurance career after she graduated from the National University of Singapore with a Bachelor of Arts degree.
Ms Low, now 33, joined the insurance industry in 1998. Her boss, who managed the AIA agency she worked in, was Mr Rayner Lee. Mr Lee is married to an AIA super agent, Ms Mary Chen, a former leading actress from Taiwan.
It was reported that in 1999 and the year after, Ms Low earned more than $300,000 in annual commission from new policies. That placed her at the Top of the Table (TOT) - the highest recognition for Million Dollar Round Table agents.
In fact, she was one of just six agents - out of around 20,000 from Singapore - who qualified for that distinction then. She was believed to be among the youngest, if not the youngest, TOT agents in the world in 2000.
Despite her success, it was reported that Ms Low continued to lead a humble lifestyle, getting around mostly by bus and train. Home then was a Housing Board flat in Eunos where she lived with her mother, grandmother and younger brother.
Ms Low had said that she became an insurance agent because she badly wanted to provide well for her family after her father walked out on them.
To pay her way through university, she worked part-time as a salesgirl.
In the 2001 article, Ms Low was also praised by Ms Chen for her after-sales service. When her clients were busy or out of town, she would take their children shopping or to school.
A decade later, Ms Low has been sacked by AIA and is currently embroiled in a high-profile lawsuit with a former client.
When contacted last Friday, she said she is currently unemployed and is living in a Housing Board flat with her mother in Toa Payoh.
Lorna Tan
May 11, 2011
Ex-AIA agent charged over fake $6.2m policy
She faces 19 charges; bail cut from $2m to $300k on appeal
By Lorna Tan, Senior Correspondent
Sally Low Ai Ming, 34, allegedly told a businessman he could apply for an "AIA Thank You" policy when such a product did not exist. This led him to remit US$5.06 million to AIA. -- ST FILE PHOTO
A FORMER AIA insurance agent who allegedly sold a fake US$5 million (S$6.2 million) insurance policy is facing fraud and cheating charges, including using forged documents.
The charges were laid against Sally Low Ai Ming, 34, at the Subordinate Court last Friday and bail set at $2 million. She failed to raise the cash and was remanded at Changi Women's Prison.
She broke down when she appeared in court yesterday to ask that the bail be reduced to $200,000. Her mother also cried. Bail was revised to $300,000 but Low has to surrender her passport and report weekly to the authorities.
The charges - four of cheating, 11 of fraudulent use of forged documents and four of moving crime proceeds to bank accounts and to partially pay for a property - stem from a police report made more than a year ago by a customer who bought a fake 'AIA Thank You' policy from Low in November 2002.
Low allegedly told semi-retired businessman Ong Han Ling, 72, that he could apply for the policy when she knew such a product did not exist. The act of deception led him to remit US$5.06 million to AIA, according to the charge sheet.
Low also allegedly told Mr Ong that two computer errors at AIA caused three policies to be issued in his name and that of his wife. It is claimed that Low then caused these policies to be surrendered and the three sums - about US$5.29 million, US$1 million and $1 million - were delivered to her on behalf of AIA.
There were in fact no computer errors.
The 11 fraud charges include using forged AIA documents such as sales illustration forms, application forms, a letter of confirmation and a statement of account.
Low was also charged with transferring the crime proceeds to a bank account outside Singapore and to another person's account, and using the money to fund a down payment on a Sentosa Cove condo.
The 'Thank You' policy was supposed to make a maturity payout - which included annual fixed returns of up to 7 per cent - after five years.
Mr Ong, who is also pursuing a civil suit against Low, alleges that she used the premium meant for the 'Thank You' policy to buy four AIA plans under his name and that of his wife and their daughter, all without their knowledge.
Mr Ong is suing Low for about $3.6 million plus the loss of use of his funds.
The $3.6 million is the amount outstanding after Low made restitution to Mr Ong for payouts due to him under the policies she had taken out in his name.
In March last year, Mr Ong's lawyers had obtained an injunction to freeze Low's assets. These included proceeds from the sale of a condominium in Cairnhill and funds in several bank accounts in Singapore and Indonesia.
In his lawsuit, Mr Ong said he found out from AIA that the 'Thank You' policy was fake only when he made inquiries about the maturity payouts due in January 2008.
Low has counterclaimed, alleging in court documents that she was merely an accomplice in an elaborate ploy conceived by Mr Ong to defraud AIA.
She said she had approached Mr Ong to buy more policies in 2002 in order to further her ambition of becoming a top agent but he devised a plan to defraud AIA and share half the gains.
A former top agent at AIA, Low earned more than $300,000 in annual commissions from new policies in 1999 and 2000. She was sacked by the insurer in September 2009.
lorna@sph.com.sg
-------------------------------------------------------
Insurance agent was a high-flier
A former high-flying agent at insurer AIA, Ms Sally Low Ai Ming was profiled in a rags-to-riches story by The Sunday Times in March 2001.
She was 24 then, and hailed as 'one of the world's youngest and most successful insurance agents'.
The story told of the meteoric rise in her insurance career after she graduated from the National University of Singapore with a Bachelor of Arts degree.
Ms Low, now 33, joined the insurance industry in 1998. Her boss, who managed the AIA agency she worked in, was Mr Rayner Lee. Mr Lee is married to an AIA super agent, Ms Mary Chen, a former leading actress from Taiwan.
It was reported that in 1999 and the year after, Ms Low earned more than $300,000 in annual commission from new policies. That placed her at the Top of the Table (TOT) - the highest recognition for Million Dollar Round Table agents.
In fact, she was one of just six agents - out of around 20,000 from Singapore - who qualified for that distinction then. She was believed to be among the youngest, if not the youngest, TOT agents in the world in 2000.
Despite her success, it was reported that Ms Low continued to lead a humble lifestyle, getting around mostly by bus and train. Home then was a Housing Board flat in Eunos where she lived with her mother, grandmother and younger brother.
Ms Low had said that she became an insurance agent because she badly wanted to provide well for her family after her father walked out on them.
To pay her way through university, she worked part-time as a salesgirl.
In the 2001 article, Ms Low was also praised by Ms Chen for her after-sales service. When her clients were busy or out of town, she would take their children shopping or to school.
A decade later, Ms Low has been sacked by AIA and is currently embroiled in a high-profile lawsuit with a former client.
When contacted last Friday, she said she is currently unemployed and is living in a Housing Board flat with her mother in Toa Payoh.
Lorna Tan