Singapore woman can't get back $2,888 she transferred by mistake to a flower shop
The woman tried contacting the company, but they allegedly denied taking the money before becoming unreachable.
SINGAPORE — Despite her efforts to retrieve the money, a 54-year-old woman in Singapore was unsuccessful in getting back S$2,888 she transferred to a florist by mistake.
On 10 February, Shinmin Daily News reported that the woman, Huang had a habit of transferring her salary to another savings account to prevent overspending.
She had apparently done the usual bank transfer on 18 January, only to realise afterwards that she had mistakenly keyed in the wrong bank account number.
Shinmin reported Huang as saying that she was in the living room when she did the bank transfer at around 7am and had not switched on the lights.
Upon discovering that she had mistakenly transferred S$2,888 to a stranger's account, she immediately notified her son.
According to the Chinese daily, she called the bank that day but was informed that it would take a week for the bank to deal with the case and that the bank would try to contact the other party, but it may take up to three weeks before she would receive her money back.
The flower shop allegedly denied receiving $2,888 from her
Upon sharing the issue with a friend on 28 January, her friend tracked down the recipient of the $2,888 and discovered that the account belonged to a flower shop which Huang last contacted two years ago in November.
According to the report, the flower shop did not pick up Huang's calls when she called, and Huang even sent a message including screenshots explaining the accidental transfer and expressing her hope that the money could be returned.
The flower shop allegedly denied receiving the money, with a staff member telling Huang she contacted the wrong number.
Huang claimed the shop staff only read her messages without responding, and even when she tried to reach them again, she could not get through.
According to Huang, who contacted her bank again to inquire about the status of her case, the bank has yet to hear back from them.
She said she is currently waiting for further instructions from the bank and added that the police need a letter of proof from the bank before investigating.
Unreturned money could be considered 'theft'
In the same report, a lawyer interviewed by Shinmin explained that if the other party does not return a wrongly transferred sum, the affected party may sue in civil or criminal court.
Additionally, the lawyer advised similar victims to check with their banks first to make sure that the sum of money had been transferred.
After confirmation of the successful transfer, the other party is responsible for returning the money. If they fail to do so, then they might have violated the law, the lawyer said.
Shinmin reported the lawyer as saying that if the other party refuses to return the money, this could constitute theft, and the affected party may start a civil lawsuit to recover the sum.
In 2019, a Grab driver was sentenced to three weeks jail for misappropriating a Malaysian's backpack containing belongings like cash and passports that had been left by mistake in his vehicle.
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