Sale of bungalow, death of widow close chapter on cheating case involving ex-tour guide Yang Yin

He said Madam Chung’s property sits on significantly larger land, adding that houses in the Gerald Crescent vicinity typically ranged between 1,500 sq ft and 4,000 sq ft.

But the larger size of the land plot in this case meant it commanded a drastically higher asking price – nearly seven times that of landed houses in the vicinity, Mr Mak said.

This would price out those looking to buy a place to live in instead of snatching up the property for redevelopment.

“The subject property has been in the market for the past seven years. After at least two tenders that closed without any buyers, selling the property at $22 million, which is 12% off the $25 million asking price in 2021, is not unreasonable,” said Mr Mak.

Chinese national Yang Yin, who became close to the widow after acting as her tour guide in China in 2008, almost cheated her of all her assets, including the property.

One year after meeting Madam Chung, Yang moved into the Gerald Crescent bungalow saying the elderly woman, who was then 82, wanted him to become her grandson.

Madam Chung’s husband, Dr Chou Sip King, died in 2007. The couple had no children.

In 2011, Yang obtained permanent residency, and moved his wife and two young children to Singapore to live in the bungalow with him.

Around the same time, he coaxed Madam Chung into willing all her assets to him.

The wealthy physiotherapist had nearly $40 million worth of assets, including the bungalow, at the time.

Madam Chung, who was later diagnosed with dementia in 2014, had even applied to grant Yang a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) to manage her financial affairs.

Her niece, Madam Hedy Mok, exposed Yang’s exploitation of her aunt in 2014. Madam Mok then started a series of legal actions, including moves to evict Yang from the bungalow, and revoke the LPA and the will.

The police later investigated the case and charged Yang with criminal breach of trust.

During the trial, it was revealed that the widow’s cash savings of $2.7 million had dwindled to just $10,000 in the four years that Yang was living with her.

Despite that, Yang fought the new will, which did not leave any assets to him. However, his application was thrown out in a Court of Appeal decision.

In 2016, the swindler was sentenced to 11 years and two months’ jail after pleading guilty to misappropriating $1.1 million from the widow.

In all, he pleaded guilty to a total of 120 charges including falsifying receipts to stay in Singapore to obtain permanent residency.

He was

and has been barred from re-entering the Republic.