To get a clear picture of the facts, I asked to have a meeting with Mr. Lim’s sons and heirs. My motivation was simple. After almost fifty years with the law, I had no wish to tarnish my reputation by getting involved in a questionable case. Further, I was afraid of ending up with an omelette on my face.
The late Mr. Lim’s three sons were waiting for me when I arrived for the meeting, which took place in the unadorned conference room of the old law firm. Thomas emphasised that we were dealing with a ‘modest’ estate. Substantial expenditure was to be avoided. Initially, the estate had hope that the Bank would come up with a settlement. But up to now the Bank had taken a militant stand.
“How much is involved?” I asked.
“About $2.1m. was taken from the account,” explained Thomas.
“From the Bank’s point of view such an amount is a pittance. Why did they refuse to refund? They would wish to avoid the publicity of a trial!”
“The Branch’s Deputy Manager would not hear of a settlement. He is very stubborn.”
I knew the officer involved – Quentin Tan – very well. At the time of the defalcations, he was a mere assistant Branch Manager. He had, since, been moved to an important position at the Head Office. I saw less of him after his rise. Before then we had even played together as a team in a Contract Bridge tournaments. He was a good and smart partner.
In my eyes Quentin was a reliable common-sense man and an experienced banker. He was bound to know that the payment of large amounts over the counter was unusual. A searching trial would not enhance the Bank’s reputation. What was the cause of his uncompromising stand? In my dealings with him – arising in the context of earlier trials – his basic philosophy was ‘live and let live’. He must have known – or perhaps only suspected – that the facts were not as simple as they appeared.
My meeting with Thomas and his clients, established that only the eldest son, Freddie, continued to live in old family home. His two brothers had moved out shortly after they married. Under the circumstances, it was not surprising that the house was left to Freddie. His two younger brothers did not resent this. Presumably, the deceased had given them substantial assistance when they bought their own houses. Still, the amount of about $2.1m. kept in the account was to be shared by them. All the same, none of them expressed outrage at Lena’s behaviour. Freddie even went so far as to relate that they kept visiting her in Changi prison.
“But her dereliction has cost each of you a neat loss of $700,000. Of course, we hope to get it back from the Bank. But aren’t you outraged, or, in the very least, disillusioned?”
“That would not help us to recover the money,” stepped in Freddie.
“But where did it end up?”
“In the ‘business’ of Lena’s friend. What is the point of digging?”
“You could, for instance, trace it to the account of a loan shark. We would, then, stand a chance of getting it back under a special type of proceedings,” I explained to him.
“But, surely, such proceedings would be very costly?”
“I told them so,” interceded Thomas. “And it is a ‘modest estate’. We cannot afford risky proceedings.”
“Still, how do we know that the money did not end up in an account of Lena and her friend. Actually, are you calling her as a witness?”
“The clients do not want to do this. She is apparently undergoing a conversion. She sees a chaplain regularly.”
“A prison conversion,” I muttered in disgust. “Well, what can I then do for you?”
“We want to know if the terms and conditions are effective.”
“But are they applicable? The late Mr. Lim opened his account with the branch long before it was taken over by the present bank. Did they ever communicate the terms to him?” I wanted to know.
“They told him the terms could be perused at the premises of the branch!”
“And that was all? Up to now I have never seen a person reading a long document, including a bank’s terms and conditions, displayed at a branch. And I have been in business of counselling banks for over fifty years! I would never have let a bank proceed on such a shaky basis! Do you, in the very least, have a copy of the letter advising the late Mr. Lim of his ‘duty’ to read the terms?”
“I don’t; but they rely on a standard letter which, they say, was sent to persons in Mr. Lim’s position. It advised them about the merger and counselled that the applicable terms and conditions were displayed at the branch.”
“How do you know this letter was actually sent to the late Mr. Lim?”
“Please proceed on the basis that it was sent and that the terms were applicable.”
“Very well,” I gave in ungracefully. “It will take me three days to write such an opinion. Your main question is whether the verification clause, under which the late Mr. Lim should have drawn any inaccuracies to the bank’s attention within 15 days, was effective?”
“Precisely,” concluded Thomas, averting his eyes.
“You see, Prof.” added Freddie, “ours is a ‘modest estate’. Our best hope is a settlement.”
“It is up to you,” I conceded. “Still, I want to grasp how Lena knew, in advance, when to substitute the forged statements for the real ones. Further, who produced them? They look spotless and genuine to me.”
“How can we tell?” asked Freddie.
“By calling Lena as a witness and subjecting her to a searching cross- examination!”
“The estate wants to avoid this,” explained Thomas. “I have been instructed me to this effect.”