Woman convicted of keeping S$17,000 mistakenly transferred to her account

Singapore — A 32-year-old woman has been sent to jail for keeping S$17,000 that was mistakenly transferred to her bank account.

On Jan 17, 2019, Ambikai discovered an excess of S$17,000 in her bank account. According to a mothership.sg report, the money did not belong to her as she had only S$500 in her account, an amount she planned to withdraw that day.

Ambikai withdrew S$3,000 and spent S$1,000 on personal expenses. She pocketed the remaining S$2,000.

On the same day, she transferred S$5,000 to her boyfriend’s bank account, the report noted.

Ambikai withdrew the remaining S$9,000 the following day and gave it to her brother-in-law. She also gave him the S$2,000 she took on Jan 17 as he needed cash for home renovations.

The next month, on Feb 5, a 65-year-old woman lodged a police report regarding her missing cash. It was indicated in court documents that the elderly woman fell victim to a love scam and had transferred money to various accounts, including Ambikai’s.

On Feb 12, Ambikai was identified by police and investigations began. She was arrested on June 16, 2020.

She was charged with dishonestly misappropriating the S$17,000 transferred to her account on a mistake.

The New Paper reported on Thursday (Dec 31) that Ambikai had pleaded guilty to her charge and was sentenced to 24 days in jail.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Audrey Choo said: “She was fully aware that this excess sum did not belong to her, as she should have had only S$500 in her account which she wished to withdraw that day.”

Ambikai knew the money was not hers to keep and yet did not make attempts to contact the rightful owner.

In her defence, her lawyer informed District Judge Ronald Gwee during mitigation that Ambikai was the sole breadwinner of the family and her parents were greatly dependent on her.

She has made full restitution to the victim. /TISG

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