A Walter Sisulu University student who spent more than $63,000 of $1.1 million that was mistakenly deposited into her account has appeared in court on theft charges, police said.
Sibongile Mani, 28, was arrested by the police’s serious commercial crime unit after she was asked to turn herself in, Anelisa Feni, spokeswoman for an elite police unit, the Hawks, said, Eye Witness News (EWN) reports.
NAIJ.com gathered that Mani, a student at Walter Sisulu University in Eastern Cape province, appeared before a magistrate court on charges of theft on Tuesday, May 29.
Sibongile Mani spends $1m mistakenly credited to her bank account, charged to court on Tuesday, May 29. Credit: EWN
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She qualified last year for 1,400-rand ($110) in monthly food allowances from the National Students Financial Aid Scheme, which aids underprivileged students.
Instead, she was accidentally given $1.1 million in June and went on a spending spree, splurging on expensive clothing, a smartphone and partying.
A receipt from a grocery store showing a balance on Sibongile Mani's account of more than R13 million. Credit: EWN
It took the scheme three months to detect the error. It recovered the remainder of the funds from her bank account.
At the court appearance on Tuesday, May 29, Mani was reportedly released on a warning and ordered to appear again on July 2.
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Meanwhile, NAIJ.com had previously reported that an Epe magistrates court in Lagos state on Friday, April 20, sentenced an unemployed man, who impersonated a deputy superintendent of police to defraud seven people in the guise of offering them jobs.
Magistrate Olumide-Fusika sentenced 34-year-old Ogunbajo Olalekan to 14 years imprisonment without an option of fine.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Olalekan was arraigned on an eight-count charge bordering on impersonation and obtaining by false pretences.
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Source: Naija.ng