Here’s what you shouldn’t do when you find a large amount of money in your bank account: go on a shopping spree.
A 21-year-old Malaysian found out the hard way when she was arrested at the Sydney Airport for allegedly spending A$4.6mil (RM13.8mil) which was mistakenly deposited into her bank account in what appears to be a bizarre system glitch.
The Sydney Morning Herald reported that Christine Jiaxin Lee, a chemical engineering student who’s been living in Australia the past five years, was trying to board a flight back to Malaysia when she was arrested on Wednesday night.
Christine has been charged in an Australian court with “dishonestly obtaining financial advantage by deception, and knowingly dealing with the proceeds of crime”.
According to Australian authorities, Christine opened a bank account a month shy of her 18th birthday, in August 2012. Westpac Bank accidentally gave her credit on the account in the form of an unlimited overdraft. As a birthday present? We don’t know.
Despite numerous attempts by the bank and the police to contact her, she allegedly ignored their calls and emails but instead, went on a massive shopping spree that would make our PM’s wife proud, spending A$1mil (RM2.96mil) on luxury items such as handbags and shoes.
The police prosecutor also told Sydney’s Waverley Local Court that A$3.3mil (RM9.9mil) had not been recovered.
According to the news site, the magistrate has granted Christine bail and the case will continue on 21 June.
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