Singapore's first public-listed pawnbroker, Maxi-Cash, is suing three customers to get back $275,000 it mistakenly overpaid them after the gold bars they pawned were misappropriated by an employee.
Ms Chen Qiaodong, Mr Keok Su Seng and Ms Belinda Ho Geok Eng had bought five gold bars at $95,000 apiece on the same day from now-defunct gold investment firm Genneva.
They pledged the bars the next day at the Maxi-Cash outlet in Northpoint Shopping Centre for loans of $55,000 per bar, making a total of $275,000.
Five days later, a Maxi-Cash employee took the gold bars to sell so that he could repay his gambling debts.
When the trio found out, they demanded compensation from the pawnbroking chain. Maxi-Cash agreed, and paid them $95,000 per gold bar, making a total of $475,000.
Six months later, it dawned on the pawnbroker that it had overpaid the trio. It had not taken into account the $55,000 loans they had taken out, which meant it had actually paid out $150,000 per bar. When the three refused its demand for repayment, Maxi-Cash sued them for unjust enrichment.
