SINGAPORE: Allegations that a Chinese man has manipulated a 87-year-old Singaporean widow to give him control over her fortune have sparked outrage in the city-state, where anti-immigrant sentiment is running high.

The Straits Times newspaper reported Friday that a niece of Chung Khin Chun, a retired physiotherapist suffering from dementia, has asked the High Court to strip Yang Yin, 40, of a power-of-attorney from the widow.

Yang was a tourist guide when he first met Chung in China in 2008 and later developed a relationship with the woman, who eventually allowed him to live in her Singaporean home. Yang’s wife and two young children also moved in last year.

Local websites were swamped Friday with attacks against Chinese nationals in reaction to the report, with some comparing the saga to the tussle over the late Hong Kong multi-billionaire Nina Wang’s fortune.

While Chung’s assets are relatively more modest, they include a sprawling suburban bungalow worth an estimated Sg$30 million ($24 million), a rare property on an island where most people live in high-rise apartment blocks.

The Straits Times said Chung’s niece Hedy Mok, 60, had asked the court to freeze all of the elderly woman’s assets amid proceedings to revoke Yang’s power-of-attorney, which he obtained in 2012.