THE insurance agent was so desperate to meet her sales target that she forged the signature of her client, Madam Roslinda Mohamed Noor.

Erni Liyana Noor, 29, who was with Prudential Assurance, then transferred $30,000 out of Madam Roslinda's CPF account.

The money was used to top up the housewife's investment account with Prudential without her knowledge.

For that, Erni was charged with one count of forgery. She pleaded guilty and was jailed four months. The mother of two is appealing against the sentence.

The court heard that Erni got to know Madam Roslinda in October 2007 after she signed up for an investment plan with Prudential using her CPF funds.

In March 2008, Erni contacted Madam Roslinda and asked her if she wanted to top up her investment by another $30,000.

Madam Roslinda was not keen and turned her down.

But Erni went against her wishes by forging her signature and transferring the amount out of her CPF account. As a result of the 'sale', Erni earned a commission of $375 from Prudential.

Madam Roslinda discovered the unauthorised withdrawal when she saw her CPF statement in December. She made a police report.

When Prudential found out about the matter, it returned the money into Madam Roslinda's CPF account. By then, the investment of $30,000 had made a loss of $8,960 due to the global economic crisis.

Erni has since refunded the loss and her commission to Prudential. She is now unemployed.

Not out of greed

In her mitigation, her lawyer, Mr Mohd Firoze Hashim, said Erni had not committed the offence out of greed. Neither did she mean to cause any losses to Madam Roslinda and Prudential.

He said Erni had been under pressure to meet her sales target and was often the target of unkind remarks by her superior.

Mr Mohd Firoze said the $30,000 had not gone into Erni's pockets and that Madam Roslinda and Prudential 'have been duly compensated and put in a position as though the crime had not been committed'.

In sentencing her, District Judge Jasvender Kaur said that the offence had involved the withdrawal of CPF funds and could not be treated lightly.

While she noted that the money had not ended up in Erni's pockets, the amount involved was sizeable and she had caused the funds to be exposed to risks.

She said: 'The accused would have known that the CPF funds, which were her client's savings, were inviolable and should not be subjected to any risk without her client's consent as any loss of a sizeable amount would inevitably have a high degree of financial impact.'

Judge Kaur also said that Erni's actions involved an abuse of a position of trust, which made it an aggravating factor. She had not only breached the trust of her employer, but that of her client as well.

She said: 'In the course of their work, (insurance) agents have opportunities to handle or have access to the life savings of many clients.

'Opportunities for breach of trust or fraud are legion and insurance agents must be left in no doubt that serious consequences will follow any abuse of position.'

Although Erni was the one who bore the losses, Judge Kaur said she was merely making amends for her own actions.

While she was under pressure at work, she could not simply pass the blame onto her superiors.

'On the contrary, it indicated that she was prepared to flout the law to advance her own purpose,' the judge said.

For forgery, Erni could have been jailed four years and fined.

This article was first published in The New Paper