 "Indian in Singapore to be jailed for using Rs 16 lakh mistakenly transferred to his bank account")
A 47-year-old Indian national has been sentenced to nine weeks in jail by a Singapore court for failing to return SGD 25,000 (approximately Rs 16 lakh) that was mistakenly transferred to his bank account, despite knowing the funds did not belong to him.
On October 14, Periyasamy Mathiyazhagan pleaded guilty to misappropriating the funds, informing the court that he had used the money to pay off debts and had sent some of it to his family in India.
Periyasamy was employed by a plumbing and engineering firm from 2021 to 2022.
His legal troubles began on April 6, 2023, when an administrator at the firm mistakenly transferred SGD 25,000 into his bank account, believing it to be the company’s account. Court documents referred to her (unnamed) as the complainant in the case.
State Prosecuting Officer (SPO) Lim Yeow Leong told the court the woman had taken a personal loan from the company and wanted to pay it off.
“After making the erroneous transfer, the complainant was informed by (a director at the firm) on the same day that the account did not belong to the company, and the company did not receive the cash,” The Straits Times quoted the SPO as saying.
The woman then told Periyasamy’s bank about the erroneous transfer and sought its help to recover the money.
On April 10, 2023, the bank sent a letter addressed to him, stating that the woman had made a request for the cash to be returned.
Impact Shorts
View AllBut the letter was sent to the company instead as it was identified as Periyasamy’s last known address in the bank’s records.
On May 9 that year, it informed her by another letter that her request for the cash to be returned was unsuccessful.
She then lodged a police report on May 23.
Investigations revealed that Periyasamy discovered earlier that month that the money had been deposited into his bank account.
The SPO said that the offender was not expecting to receive such a large sum of cash and knew that it did not belong to him.
Despite this, he transferred the SGD 25,000 to another bank account over four separate transactions on May 11 and 12.
Some time at the end of the month, administrative staff at the company noticed that the bank’s letter addressed to Periyasamy had been sent to the firm instead.
The firm’s director called him to the firm, handed him the letter, and asked him to return the SGD 25,000.
Periyasamy replied that he had used up the amount to pay off his debts.
In a police interview in November 2023, he told officers that he had also remitted a portion of the money to his family in India.
He requested for more time to return the cash to the woman and proposed a monthly repayment of SGD 1,500.
To date, the money has not been recovered, and he has made no restitution, according to the newspaper.
With inputs from agencies.
 "US says ties with India, Pakistan ‘remain unchanged’ amid Trump's tariff moves and Munir visits")
 "Israel in talks with South Sudan over plans to relocate Palestinians from Gaza: Report")
 "Another Modi-Trump meeting on the cards? Preparations on for PM's US visit for UNGA, says report")
 "‘We will never leave...’: Zelenskyy refuses to cede Donbas region that could be Putin's 'springboard' for future war")
 "US says ties with India, Pakistan ‘remain unchanged’ amid Trump's tariff moves and Munir visits")
 "Israel in talks with South Sudan over plans to relocate Palestinians from Gaza: Report")
 "Another Modi-Trump meeting on the cards? Preparations on for PM's US visit for UNGA, says report")
 "‘We will never leave...’: Zelenskyy refuses to cede Donbas region that could be Putin's 'springboard' for future war")
