Man jailed for keeping and spending $9,000 mistakenly transferred to him by NTU

A Singaporean man was jailed for 12 weeks on Friday (Dec 26) after pleading guilty to one count of dishonest misappropriation. 

Mohamed Basheer Hanif Mohamed, 27, refused to return more than $9,000 that the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) had mistakenly transferred to him on Nov 10, 2023.

He spent the funds on daily expenses and a hotel staycation instead.

According to court records obtained by CNA, on the same day, Basheer had noticed a transfer of $9,087.04 to his POSB account, which previously contained no money. He started to withdraw the funds for personal use.

A finance officer from NTU and POSB attempted to contact Basheer several times in vain. The former emailed him on Nov 21, but he responded, saying that he did not know about the erroneous transfer as he had stopped using the bank account.

Basheer also refused to provide an updated phone number and address to the university and told the finance officer to stop contacting him.

The man also did not make any restitution.

For dishonest misappropriation, Basheer could have been jailed for up to two years, fined, or both. 

Noting that he was a first-time offender, however, the prosecution left sentencing to the court's discretion, and he was sentenced to 12 weeks in jail.

Basheer said he had been remanded in court since October as he was unable to post bail, and appeared for his court hearing via video link and without legal representation.

He stated financial concerns, saying he lived in a rental flat with his wife and that they were struggling. He appeared remorseful and told the judge he would not reoffend.

When the court asked if an NTU representative was present, a woman stepped forward but she was later discovered to be Basheer's wife, CNA reported.

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drimac@asiaone.com