Jane Lee, the owner of salad chain Sumo Salad (now rebranded as Sumo Well), passed away a day after alleging she was the victim of a fraudulent injury scam by a foreign employee and the employee’s husband. The eatery has outlets in Holland Village and Marina One, which serve greens, grain bowls, wraps and kombucha. The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) said on Monday (21 July) that it was looking into an alleged fraudulent work injury claim made against EatGreen, the operator of Sumo Salad. The Singapore Police Force also said that investigations were ongoing into the unnatural death of Ms Jane Lee, Sumo Salad's owner.

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Jane, who was in her 40s, died on 19 July after making two Facebook posts about an employee who allegedly faked a workplace injury to seek compensation from the company.

"Just two days before her contract ended, she staged an incident – claiming to have slipped and fallen while taking the escalator to dispose of rubbish," Jane wrote in one post on 18 July. "On that day, she was supposed to leave work early, but she deliberately stayed back. It became clear to me that the accident was premeditated, likely as an attempt to file a false work injury claim."

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“A carefully orchestrated scheme"

The mother of two added that she believed this was "a carefully orchestrated scheme" that the employee planned with the employee's husband. "I feel extremely unfortunate to have encountered this situation. I am deeply saddened – for myself, my husband and our dedicated staff – that because of an unfortunate gap in our insurance coverage, we are now being targeted by what I believe to be a fraudulent scheme," she said in the post.

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"MOM will not hesitate to take parties found culpable for abusing the WIC system to task”

MOM said: "We were in communication with Ms Lee, and investigations are ongoing. The worker involved was covered under Work Injury Compensation (WIC) Act, and MOM is working with the insurer to assess the validity of the case. "MOM will not hesitate to take parties found culpable for abusing the WIC system to task. Employers can approach MOM for help if they have concerns over fraudulent claims by their employees." The ministry also extended its condolences to Ms Lee's family.

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Jane’s farewell letter

Just two minutes after her first post, at 2:04am on 18 July, Jane shared a public goodbye letter on Facebook addressed to her loyal staff, friends and family. She tagged the Ministry of Manpower and the Singapore Police Force, urging authorities to “investigate this case thoroughly”.

“I fear that I will not be the last victim,” she wrote. “These individuals may continue to exploit other unsuspecting small businesses in similar ways.”

Jane went on to name and thank her employees individually, including one heartfelt message to a staff member: “Win, I’ve transferred money to your account — please use it to start a business with your husband.”

She closed her post with a final note: “To my beloved family and children, I'm truly sorry that I couldn’t find the strength to face this battle on my own. I’ve written a personal letter that you’ll find on my laptop.”

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Remembering Jane Lee — “One of the kindest”

Jane’s death was announced by Melvin Chew, founder of the Hawkers United – Dabao 2020 Facebook group, who shared details of her wake. “RIP to Jane Lee, the owner of Sumo Salad,” he captioned. “Jane is one of the kindest lady [sic] who I know, whenever there are [posts] on hawkers or people in need of help she will [initiate] help”.

Tributes from F&B community, including KF Seetoh

Many who knew Jane echoed the sentiment, remembering her as “kind,” “warm,” and “sincere.”

“[I have known] her for 15 to 20 years,” a comment by Vincent Lee wrote. “[When she sees] others give out pamphlets on the street, [she] will ask them for [a] few more so that they can finish their work early. Like an angel.”

Makansutra founder KF Seetoh also posted a tribute: “Another customer of hers went once to buy her Sumo Salads and just said hello. Next she sent salads to him and even bought Melvin Chew's dumplings and sent it to him too, seeking nothing in return. It's hard to find people so warm tinged with sincerity today [sic].”

“I don't know what really happened,” he adds. “But no healthy person dies a day after putting up a desperate and help seeking [sic] post.”

Sumo Well (formerly Sumo Salad) has two outlets, including #B1-11 Holland Village MRT, S278995. More info via website and Instagram. If you or someone you know is having difficulties coping, here are some numbers to call:

Samaritans of Singapore: 1800-221-4444

Singapore Association for Mental Health: 1800-283-7019

CHAT @ *SCAPE: (+65) 6493 6500, (+65) 6493 6501

SAF Counselling Hotline: 1800-278-0022

Source: CNA/dv(kg)

The original version of this story first appeared in CNA. 

For more CNA stories, visit https://www.channelnewsasia.com/. 

With additional reporting by Faraha Faeaz