SINGAPORE: A woman whose alleged con of her son was featured in a Netflix documentary was ordered to be remanded for a week by Singapore’s State Courts on Friday (Apr 11).
Dionne Marie Hanna, 84, known to Netflix viewers as the woman in Con Mum, is currently facing five charges of fraud by false representation. The documentary began airing on the streaming platform on Mar 25.
Hanna, who was in a holding facility, appeared in court via videolink.
The prosecution said Hanna was discharged from hospital only on Thursday evening, and that the investigating officer has not been able to complete investigations.
He sought another week for Hanna to be remanded in order for the authorities to investigate into additional charges. The request was granted by a district judge and no bail was offered to Hanna.
Hanna, who remained unrepresented, confirmed her identity and said that she understood court proceedings.
She will be remanded at the Central Police Division headquarters and will return to court on Apr 17 for a further mention.
ARREST
Dionne, a British national, was arrested in Singapore days after the debut of the film, which tells the story of how Hanna allegedly tricked her biological son and left him in debt after reconnecting with him in his adulthood.
The documentary also depicts other alleged victims of Hanna’s.
In Singapore, Hanna is accused of scamming three victims through false representation, with losses amounting to more than S$200,000 (US$151,000), according to an earlier police news release.
The victims realised they had been cheated after Hanna’s appearance in the documentary, the authorities said.
Hanna was produced in court and charged on Apr 5 via videolink, where she appeared from a hospital bed. She was ordered to be remanded after she was discharged from hospital, with no bail offered then.
CHARGES
Hanna allegedly cheated her victims through promises of investment opportunities and inheritance entitlements.
Of her five charges, two state that Hanna deceived a man named Paiman Supangat in France.
Between Mar 3 and Mar 5, Hanna is said to have told him that he needed to pay legal fees to open a bank account, and for her to increase the contribution amount to him.
She is also accused of deceiving Mr Paiman into thinking that she intended to repay him the money that she wanted to borrow from him to fund her personal shopping expenses. She had no intention of returning the money, the charge stated.
In Singapore, sometime between Feb 17 and Mar 10, Hanna claimed that she was from the Brunei royal family, that she was terminally ill with cancer, and that she wanted to distribute her wealth to Mr Paiman and his son.
Her purported health condition was allegedly used to cheat another victim in Singapore, Mr Mohamed Syafiq Paiman. She allegedly expressed her desire to distribute her wealth to him on Mar 10 this year.
Hanna is suspected of deceiving a third victim, Mr Mohamed Ariffin Mohamed Kawaja Kamaludin, at 10 Scotts Road – the address of Grand Hyatt hotel in Singapore – from Feb 13 to Feb 14.
She allegedly committed fraud by making him believe she was terminally ill with cancer, and expressing her intention to donate S$3 million to Masjid Khalid and S$2 million to Mawar Community Services, a registered society to help ex-offenders.
Charge sheets did not state the value of losses suffered by the alleged victims.
If convicted of fraud by false representation, an offender may be jailed for up to 20 years, fined, or both.
Con Mum is about London pastry chef Graham Hornigold’s experiences after Hanna re-entered his life in 2020.
She claimed to be his long-lost mother, and Mr Hornigold confirmed through a DNA test that she was indeed his biological mother.
The story is told mainly through interviews with Mr Hornigold, his partner and others in which they recall how Hanna scammed them. Photos of Hanna, along with recordings of her speech are also included in the film.
According to media reports, Hanna declined to participate in the documentary, which is about one-and-a-half hours long.
Hanna presented herself as the wealthy daughter of a sultan of Brunei, and proceeded to trick Mr Hornigold and others out of hundreds of thousands of pounds, according to the documentary. The developments caused Mr Hornigold’s split with his partner.
At the end of the show, Mr Hornigold is seen in a video call with Hanna, who claims to be in Malaysia. However, media reports on the film last month said that her whereabouts were unknown.
