SINGAPORE: A 59-year-old Singaporean man, Cho Joon Chin, a National Environment Agency (NEA) officer, has been fined S$5,000 in court on Wednesday, July 17, for withdrawing S$20,000 that was mistakenly sent to his account.
Channel News Asia reported that on Jun 22, 2021, 51-year-old Mr Tan, also a Singaporean, wanted to transfer S$20,000 from his DBS corporate account to another account linked to his mobile number via PayNow. Unfortunately, he entered one digit of his mobile number incorrectly, causing the money to be transferred to Cho’s UOB account instead, whom he did not know.
Realising his mistake, Mr Tan immediately sent several messages to Cho, explaining the error and pleading for the return of the money. Between 2:00 am and 10:30 am, Mr Tan sent seven messages, all of which Cho read but ignored. Instead of returning the money, Cho went to a UOB branch in Punggol and withdrew the entire S$20,000 on the same day.
In court, it was revealed that Cho was fully aware that the money did not belong to him. However, he had no intention of returning it or surrendering it to the authorities.
Mr Tan reported the incident to DBS on Jun 24, 2021, but by Jul 22, 2021, the bank’s attempts to recover the money had been unsuccessful. Mr Tan then lodged a police report in September 2021.
Cho was interviewed by the police in November 2021. During the interview, he claimed he had used the money for personal investments and requested more time to return the funds to Mr Tan. In December 2021, he made a partial restitution of S$14,000 and asked for more time to pay back the rest.
Later that month, Cho claimed the money came from the sale of his Rolex watch to a man named Mr Chew, insisting that he had received the payment via PayNow. He argued that he was entitled to the cash as it resulted from a legitimate transaction, refusing to return the remaining S$6,000 to Mr Tan. He even lodged an online police report claiming he had sold his Rolex to Mr Chew on Dec 31, 2021, to support his story.
However, police investigations could not verify the sale or confirm Mr Chew’s identity, as Cho was unable to provide any evidence of the transaction.
Eventually, Cho agreed to return the remaining S$6,000 to Mr Tan, which he did in January this year.
During the court proceedings, the prosecution sought a fine and left the amount to the court’s discretion. Cho’s defence lawyer, Steven John Lam of Templars Law, requested a non-jail sentence, highlighting Cho’s personal circumstances. Cho is the sole breadwinner for his family, with his wife battling multiple organ end-stage cancer, and a child to support.
Mr Lam noted that this was his first offence and that he was remorseful for his actions.
“It is really out of character, and I can say this because I know the accused personally,” said Mr Lam.
He highlighted Cho’s contributions during the COVID-19 pandemic, for which he had been recognised. Mr Lam requested an instalment plan for any fine, explaining that Cho’s take-home salary is about S$2,200, and he could only afford to pay S$500 a month.
For dishonest misappropriation, Cho could have faced jail time of up to two years, a fine, or both. /TISG
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