ANKARA - A Turkish man managed to get the pension of his mother for two years after her death, posing as an elderly woman to the local bank and neighbors, the mass-circulation Sabah newspaper reported Saturday.
Disguised in his mother's coat, with a headscarf on his head and large glasses over his nose, 47-year-old Serafettin Gencel got caught only after he forgot to change his voice in response to a question by a bank clerk in his latest attempt to withdraw his mother's pension.
Gencel hid the woman's death in 2003 from relatives and neighbors and buried her in the basement of their house in the northwestern city of Balikesir, Sabah said.
He used to take walks in the neighborhood disguised as his mother so that her absence did not draw attention.
The man had a long criminal record, including robbery, theft and possession of an unlicenced weapon.
03/12/2005 11:26 GMT