A 27-year-old man who kept and spent more than S$9,000 that was mistakenly transferred into his bank account by a Singapore university has been sentenced to 12 weeks' jail.
Mohamed Basheer Hanif Mohamed pleaded guilty to one charge of dishonest misappropriation on Friday, December 26, after admitting to using the money for a hotel staycation and daily expenses instead of returning it to the rightful owner.
The court documents revealed that a finance officer from Nanyang Technological University (NTU) had accidentally transferred S$9,087.04 into Basheer's POSB bank account on November 10, 2023.
The account had a zero balance prior to the transfer. Basheer noticed the funds on the same day and proceeded to withdraw and spend the money for his personal use.
Attempts by both NTU and the bank to reach Basheer were unsuccessful. On November 21, the finance officer contacted him by email regarding the erroneous transfer.
In his reply, Basheer claimed he was unaware of the funds as he no longer used the account, declined to provide his updated contact details, and asked the officer to stop contacting him. None of the money was returned.
The prosecution highlighted that Basheer was a first-time offender and left the sentence to the court's discretion. Basheer, who appeared via video link without legal representation, told the court that he had been remanded since October after being unable to post bail. He added that he lived in a rental flat with his wife and that they were facing financial difficulties.
He also expressed remorse for his actions and said he would not reoffend after his release.
During the hearing, the court asked if a representative from NTU was present. A woman came forward, but it was later clarified that she was Basheer's wife and not a university representative.
For the offence of dishonest misappropriation, Basheer could have been sentenced to up to two years' imprisonment, fined, or both.
