SINGAPORE, Dec 26 — A man who refused to return more than S$9,000 (RM28,500) mistakenly transferred to him by a Singapore university has been jailed for 12 weeks, after spending the money on a hotel staycation and daily expenses.
Mohamed Basheer Hanif Mohamed, 27, pleaded guilty to one charge of dishonest misappropriation and was sentenced on Friday, according to a report by Singapore-based media organisation CNA.
Court documents showed that a finance officer at Nanyang Technological University had mistakenly transferred S$9,087.04 to Basheer’s POSB bank account on November 10, 2023. The account previously had no funds.
Basheer noticed the money the same day and began withdrawing it for his own use. Efforts by the university and the bank to contact him were unsuccessful.
On November 21, the finance officer emailed Basheer about the erroneous transfer.
He replied that he was unaware of the money as he had stopped using the account, refused to provide his latest mobile number and address, and told the officer to stop contacting him.
He did not return any of the money.
The prosecution noted that Basheer was a first-time offender and left sentencing to the court.
Appearing via video link without a lawyer, Basheer told the court he had been remanded since October as he was unable to post bail.
He said he lived in a rental flat with his wife and that the couple were struggling financially.
He added that he was remorseful and would not reoffend upon his release.
In an unusual moment during the hearing, the court asked whether an NTU representative was present.
A woman stepped forward, but it later emerged that she was Basheer’s wife, not a representative of the university.
For dishonest misappropriation, Basheer could have faced up to two years in jail, a fine, or both.