SINGAPORE - Less than two weeks before she gave birth, Ms Fionice Teoh, a DBS assistant service manager at the bank’s Century Square branch, served a woman in her 70s who looked agitated.

She had gone there on the afternoon of Dec 24, 2024, demanding to withdraw $190,000 in cash.

As customers looked on, she shouted: “This is my money, how can you control and not let me withdraw? If you don’t let me withdraw everything, I’ll close all my accounts.”

But the bank refused, as it suspected that she was a scam victim.

Ms Teoh, 31, was 38 weeks pregnant and on one of her final shifts before her maternity leave began.

The woman verbally abused her for almost two hours.

Ms Teoh said: “I kept reminding myself to stay calm. It would have been easier to just let her withdraw everything.

“But my job isn’t just about transactions. It’s about protecting people, especially those who are most vulnerable.”

The woman initially claimed the money was for festive shopping, before saying it was for an investment. She also asked for her money to be given in cash.

She was on the phone the whole time, and was being coached by a scammer on what to tell bank staff.

The signs of a scam were all there, and Ms Teoh alerted the bank’s anti-scam team.

She said: “She got defensive and asked why we were asking so many questions. She did not want to look me in the eye, and kept looking at her phone instead.”

Ms Teoh suggested that the woman return the next day. This was to buy time for the bank’s anti-scam team and the authorities to contact her.

It took two hours of convincing before the woman finally left.

Deputy Superintendent Benedict Ng from the police’s...