Dionne Marie Hanna, 84, is facing five charges in Singapore for allegedly conning three victims.PHOTO: NETFLIX
SINGAPORE – A British woman at the centre of a new Netflix documentary – about how she is said to have tricked her own son into giving her £300,000 (S$520,000) – has been charged in court in Singapore with defrauding three people.
It was only after Con Mum, a documentary about how Dionne Marie Hanna scammed London pastry chef Graham Hornigold after re-entering his life in 2020, 45 years after his birth, aired on March 25 that other people made reports to the Singapore police. They arrested her on March 28.
On April 5, Hanna, 84, was handed five charges at the State Courts for fraud by false representation involving three alleged victims.
According to court documents, while at 10 Scotts Road – the address of the Grand Hyatt hotel in Singapore – from Feb 13 to 14 in 2025, she falsely represented to Mr Mohamed Ariffin Mohamed Kawaja Kamaludin that she was terminally ill with cancer.
She allegedly lied to him that she wanted to donate $3 million to Masjid Khalid and $2 million to Mawar Community Services.
Between Feb 17 and March 10 in Singapore, Hanna allegedly lied to Mr Paiman Supangat that she was from the Brunei royal family, that she was terminally ill with cancer, and that she desired to distribute her wealth to him and his son.
While she was in France between Feb 28 and March 10, she allegedly lied to him that she intended to return the money she wished to borrow from him for shopping.
She also allegedly made false representations to Mr Paiman while in France between March 3 and 5, leading him to believe that he needed to fork out legal fees to receive the inheritance from her.
Back in Singapore on March 10, she allegedly lied to Mr Mohamed Syafiq Paiman that she was terminally ill with cancer and she wanted to distribute her wealth to him.
In a statement on April 4, the Singapore police said, from March 28, they began receiving reports from people who were allegedly cheated by Hanna.
To tap investment opportunities and gain her inheritance, they were asked to transfer money for legal fees and opening of overseas bank accounts, the police added.
“The woman had allegedly promised the victims that they would be reimbursed through her inheritance. The victims believed that her investment and release of inheritance to be genuine and made several transfers to her.”
On April 5, the court ordered Hanna to be remanded for a week upon her discharge from Tan Tock Seng Hospital.
Her next court date is April 11.
For each charge of fraud by false representation, Hanna can be jailed for up to 20 years, fined, or both.
Asia News Network/The Straits Times
