A 27-year-old man who refused to return more than S$9,000 mistakenly transferred to him by Nanyang Technological University (NTU) was sentenced to 12 weeks’ jail on Friday, Dec 26, after spending the money on a hotel staycation and daily expenses.
Mohamed Basheer Hanif Mohamed pleaded guilty to one charge of dishonest misappropriation, according to CNA.
Court documents revealed that on Nov 10, 2023, an NTU finance officer mistakenly transferred S$9,087.04 into Basheer’s POSB bank account, which previously had no funds.
Basheer noticed the unexpected sum on the same day and began withdrawing the money for his own use. Instead of alerting the bank or the university, he spent the funds on personal expenses, including a hotel staycation.
Both NTU and POSB attempted to contact Basheer multiple times after discovering the error, but their efforts were unsuccessful. On Nov 21, 2023, an NTU finance officer emailed Basheer to inform him of the erroneous transfer.
Basheer replied that he was unaware of the money, claiming he had stopped using the bank account. He refused to provide his updated mobile number and address when requested by NTU and told the finance officer to stop contacting him. He did not return any of the money.
At the sentencing hearing, Basheer appeared via video link without legal representation. He told the court that he had been remanded since October because he was unable to post bail. He added that he lived in a rental flat with his wife and that they were financially struggling.
Basheer told the judge he was remorseful and said he would not reoffend after his release.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 university representative.
The prosecution noted that Basheer was a first-time offender and left sentencing to the court.
Under Singapore law, dishonest misappropriation carries a punishment of up to two years’ imprisonment, a fine, or both.
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