SINGAPORE - A British national featured in a Netflix documentary on scammers has been offered bail of $50,000, with a police prosecutor on April 17 saying that she is allegedly linked to offences involving around $500,000 in total.
Dionne Marie Hanna appeared in the State Courts via video link from Central Police Division, and the court heard that she is likely to face more charges.
When asked by District Judge Brenda Tan if she had a bailor, Hanna replied in a soft voice: “I don’t have anybody to bail me out.”
Hanna was not represented by a lawyer. Her pre-trial conference will take place on May 16.
The 84-year-old was arrested on March 28, and subsequently charged in the State Courts on April 5 with five counts of fraud by false representation.
The alleged offences involve three victims.
Hanna had previously appeared before the courts on April 11, a day after she was discharged from hospital.
The case against Hanna came about when the police received several reports from alleged victims who accused her of offering them fake investment opportunities.
They also alleged that she had falsely claimed inheritance entitlement, which led them to loan her money.
Hanna was featured in the Netflix documentary Con Mum, where producers detailed how she allegedly tricked her own son into giving her £300,000 (S$520,000) after re-entering his life 45 years after his birth.
After the documentary aired on March 25, a number of people made reports against Hanna to the Singapore police.
Victims said she had allegedly made various unfounded claims, including her purported struggles with cancer and links to the royal family in Brunei.
Producers found that Hanna had a history of crime, with convictions in Britain for shoplifting and fraud.
Documents produced in the State Courts show Hanna had allegedly defrauded three individuals while she was in Singapore and France between Feb 13 and March 10.
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Hanna is accused of persuading them to transfer money to her for supposed legal fees or to open overseas bank accounts.
Police said Hanna allegedly promised the victims that they would be reimbursed when she receives her inheritance.
Mr Mohamed Ariffin Mohamed Kawaja Kamaludin was among those who allegedly gave her money.
Court documents show Hanna allegedly told him she was terminally ill with cancer when they met at Grand Hyatt Singapore between Feb 13 and 14.
She also allegedly told him she wanted to donate $3 million to Masjid Khalid, a mosque in Joo Chiat, and $2 million to Mawar Community Services, a non-governmental organisation that works with prison inmates in Singapore.
Court documents stated that another man, Mr Paiman Supangat, was allegedly told by Hanna that she was linked to “the Brunei royal family”.
She also allegedly repeated the story that she was terminally ill with cancer.
At the meeting, which took place some time between Feb 17 and March 10, Hanna purportedly said she wanted to distribute her wealth to Mr Paiman Supangat and his son.
She contacted him again while she was travelling in France between Feb 28 and March 10, and is accused of saying she needed to borrow money from him for her personal expenses.
She allegedly said she also needed money to pay for legal fees to receive her inheritance.
Prosecutors say Hanna purportedly repeated her claim of being terminally ill with cancer when she met Mr Mohamed Syafiq Paiman in Singapore on March 10 after returning from her trip.
She also allegedly said she wanted to distribute her wealth to him.
Preliminary investigations show Hanna may be involved in at least five cheating cases in Singapore, with victims losing more than $200,000 in total.
If convicted, Hanna can be jailed for up to 20 years, fined, or both, on each charge of fraud by false representation.
The Netflix documentary Con Mum showed London pastry chef Graham Hornigold reuniting with Hanna after she reappeared in his life 45 years after his birth.
She told him when they met that she had only six months to live after being diagnosed with a brain tumour and bone marrow cancer. That was in 2020.
Hanna said that she lived in Singapore, and owned farms and palm oil plantations in Indonesia and her home country of Malaysia.
She met Mr Hornigold at a hotel in London, owned by the Brunei royal family. He told producers that everyone at the hotel knew her.
Presenting herself as the illegitimate daughter of the Sultan of Brunei, the documentary showed how she reportedly scammed multiple people, including Mr Hornigold, of hundreds of thousands of pounds.
A DNA test confirmed that Hanna was Mr Hornigold’s biological mother.
- Shaffiq Alkhatib is The Straits Times’ court correspondent, covering mainly criminal cases heard at the State Courts.
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