A British national at the centre of a Netflix documentary on scammers has been remanded for another week after prosecutors on April 11 said the police need time to investigate additional charges.
Dionne Marie Hanna, who was discharged from hospital the day before, appeared at the State Courts via video-link from remand in the Central Police Division headquarters.
Hanna, 84, was charged on April 5 in the State Courts with five counts of fraud by false representation. The alleged offences involved three victims.
The British national was arrested on March 28 after the police received several reports from victims who claimed that Hanna had offered them fake investment opportunities and inheritance entitlement.
She was featured in the Netflix documentary, Con Mum, where producers provided details of 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.
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The documentary revealed that she had been convicted of shoplifting and fraud in the UK.
After the documentary aired on March 25, a number of other people made reports about Hanna to the Singapore police.
Court documents show the alleged incidents occurred while Hanna was in Singapore and France between Feb 13 and March 10.
Victims were asked to transfer money to Hanna for legal fees or opening overseas bank accounts, with Hanna reportedly promising to reimburse the victims through her inheritance.
While at the Grand Hyatt hotel between Feb 13 and14, Hanna reportedly told one Mr Mohamed Ariffin Mohamed Kawaja Kamaludin that she was terminally ill with cancer.
She also said she wanted to donate $3 million to Masjid Khalid and $2 million to Mawar Community Services.
Hanna is also said to have told Mr Paiman Supangat, between Feb 17 and March 10, that she was Brunei Royalty.
She also said she was terminally ill with cancer, and led him to believe that she wanted to distribute her wealth to him and his son.
When she was travelling in France between Feb 28 and March 10, she reportedly told him that she needed to borrow money from him for her personal expenses.
She is said to have lied to Mr Paiman Supangat that he had to fork out legal fees to receive her inheritance.
When she returned to Singapore on March 10, she allegedly lied to one Mr Mohamed Syafiq Paiman that she was terminally ill with cancer,.
She said she wanted to distribute her wealth to him.
Preliminary investigations showed that she is believed to be involved in at least five cheating cases with losses totalling more than $200,000.
For each charge of fraud by false representation, Hanna can be jailed for up to 20 years, fined, or both.
In Con Mum, London pastry chef Graham Hornigold reunited with Hanna after she reappeared in 2020 - 45 years after his birth.
A DNA test had confirmed Hanna was his biological mother.
Presenting herself as the illegitimate daughter of the sultan of Brunei, the documentary showed how she had reportedly scammed multiple people, including Mr Hornigold, out of hundreds of thousands of pounds.
Hanna will appear again before the courts on April 17.
