A 39-year-old woman accused of taking more than S$1.7 million from a Singapore businessman while he was seriously ill has denied wrongdoing, saying they had been lovers for about a decade and that he gave her the money voluntarily.
The businessman, Zhou Yansong, died in September 2024 at the age of 73. He had operated seafood wholesaler Evergreen Seafood.
His 42-year-old daughter, Zhou Wenfeng, is the executor of his estate and has sued Sun Beibei in the High Court for alleged breach of fiduciary duty, seeking S$1.711 million from her, according to Lianhe Zaobao. The civil case began trial in August 2026 and remains ongoing.
Estate Says More Than S$1.7 Million Was Taken While Businessman Was Ill
According to the plaintiff’s case reported by Zaobao, Sun came to Singapore from Qingdao in 2012 and initially worked at a maid agency, where she met Zhou.
She joined his seafood business the following year, first part-time and later as a full-time employee handling administrative and marketing work. She eventually became a company director, although the plaintiff said she held no shares and had no authority to sign on the company’s bank accounts.
Zhou was diagnosed with stage four colon cancer in December 2022. By May 2024, the cancer had spread further and he was expected to have less than six months to live, according to the plaintiff’s court documents cited by Zaobao.
The plaintiff’s case is that Zhou had become very weak and relied heavily on Sun. She also began holding his mobile phone and wallet, which contained two bank cards.
The estate alleges that between June and September 2024, Sun used bank drafts and blank cheques that Zhou had signed beforehand to withdraw S$1.625 million from two accounts.
It further alleges that from 12 August to 5 September 2024, she used two bank cards to withdraw another S$86,000, often at Paragon Shopping Centre opposite Mount Elizabeth Hospital.
These claims have not been determined by the court.
Sun Says They Had Been Lovers Since 2014
Sun gave evidence on 1 and 2 September and disputed the estate’s allegations.
She said that she and Zhou began a romantic relationship in 2014 and lived together in a company-owned residence in eastern Singapore. She described their relationship as an “open secret” and claimed Zhou’s wife and daughter should have known about it.
According to Sun’s account, she cared for Zhou in his daily life and continued looking after him as his health deteriorated.
Sun said that after Zhou learnt that he had only months to live, he became concerned about how she would support herself in Singapore after his death and wanted her to have her own home.
She therefore maintained that the money at the centre of the lawsuit was a gift, not money she had taken without permission.
Sun also testified that she filled in her name and the amounts on cheques on Zhou’s instructions. On one occasion, she claimed, he asked her to guide his hand as he signed a cheque because he was too weak to do so himself.
About two months after Zhou’s death, Sun used money from the bank withdrawals to buy an apartment, Zaobao reported.
Estate Points to Zhou’s Will and Allegedly Deleted Messages
The businessman’s daughter disputes Sun’s version.
The plaintiff pointed to a will Zhou made while in hospital that left his bank savings to his wife and daughter, arguing that this was inconsistent with Sun’s claim that he intended to give her the money.
The estate also alleges that after Zhou’s funeral, Sun deleted text messages between herself and Zhou before returning his phone to the family. It further claims that bank notifications relating to the cash withdrawals were missing.
Sun has denied the central allegation that she improperly took Zhou’s money.
As of 7 September 2026, the High Court has not ruled on the dispute and the civil proceedings are still ongoing.
