How to recognise the signs of elder financial abuse
Despite the prevalence of elder financial abuse, it is often not reported for several reasons such as seniors aren’t aware that what they are experiencing is abuse, they are too ashamed of what’s happening or they don’t want their family members (especially children) to be penalised, says advocate and solicitor Datin Ranuga Devy M Packirisamy who often handles cases for the elderly.

Data from the Institute of Public Health (2018) shows that elder abuse often goes unreported because the victims don’t want to implicate family members (57%), are in denial (25%), don’t know where to seek help (16%), feel shame associated with taboos and stigmas (2%).

Ranuga, who is also treasurer for the Malaysian Healthy Ageing Society (MHAS), shares several scenarios to help Malaysians recognise possible instances of financial abuse.

Scenario One

Sometimes, adult children ask their aged parents to mortage/refinance their house/property to get funds from the bank.

The adult children may claim that they want to use the funds for valid reasons (renovations, education, etc). They even volunteer to pay the monthly loan installments.

“Parents usually trust their children and will agree. They sign the mortgage or bank loan forms, not realising nor understanding what they are signing.

“When the loan is approved, the children take the money but don’t pay the monthly installments and the bank tries to repossess the property to auction it off.

"The parents don’t know what has happened and why the bank is trying to repossess their home, and they don’t realise it’s because of what their children have done,” shares Ranuga.

The children will tell their parents to let the bank take the house, and go and stay with them. When they do so, the senior ends up acting as the maid, driver, and caregiver to their grandchildren, and they lose their independence, she says.

Ranuga shares several scenarios to help Malaysians recognise possible instances of financial abuse.

Scenario Two

Grown children who still live at home, live off their parents’ pension funds and the mother becomes the maid, cook, etc. She washes their clothes, pays the utility bills, etc. and even though the children work and earn a salary, they keep it for themselves and they don’t contribute anything to their ageing parents, says Ranuga.

When asked why they’re still staying at home, they say it’s because they want to take care of their aged parents, but in actual fact, the parents are the ones taking care of them.

Scenario Three

The caregiver of an elderly person (usually male) marries him so that she can get his property and money after he passes away. The marriage is registered and recognised as legal because he agreed and signed the marriage contract (even though he has dementia and isn’t aware of what he’s doing). The children aren’t even aware of what has happened until much later when the situation comes to light.

Scenario Four

During weekends, there are many admissions of elderly patients at government hospitals because their adult children want to go away on holiday. Hence, the elderly parents are abandoned at the hospital where they get free care for the elderly.

The children don’t want to take their elderly parents on holiday but they use their money to go on holiday. They only bring their own children with them but not their elderly parents. After the holiday, they return to bring their parents home from the hospital, says Ranuga.
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Advocate for seniors shares scenarios of elder financial abuse to help people recognise and do something about it.