Man mistakenly transfers $5,000 to wrong account, unable to get money back after 21 months

A Chinese massage therapist who claimed to have mistakenly transferred $5,000 to a stranger has yet to see the cash after 21 months.

46-year-old Yu Shengjie (transliteration) said he'd done the transfer on Nov 15, 2022 at an ATM in Sembawang MRT station, Shin Min Daily News reported on Monday (Sept 2).

He told Shin Min that a friend in China had requested for his help to transfer the cash to the bank account of their son who was studying in Singapore. The money was meant for his living expenses here.

After Yu transferred the funds, however, the friend informed him that the son did not receive the cash. When Yu checked the bank records, he realised that he'd transferred the money to the wrong account, which belonged to a logistics company. He then contacted the bank and made a police report the next day.

"I'm not sure if I'd previously helped someone to pay the logistics company, which is why I had their account number and mistakenly selected it," said Yu.

In December 2022, Yu was informed by the bank that they were unable to recover the money as the owner of the account was uncontactable.

Yu was also told by the police several months later that they had traced the recipient's account to a logistics company. With help from the police, Yu was able to contact the director of the company through WeChat.

Yu showed the other party the police report and transfer record, and requested a return of the $5,000.

However, Yu claimed that the other party refused, stating that they needed to investigate the case further. Another reason given in September last year was that his business was transferred to someone else. The other party later voiced his suspicion that the case might involve money laundering or fraud, and asked Yu to provide evidence to prove his innocence.

Said Yu: "If that's the case, then the recipient should hand the money over to the police and let them handle it. If there's a problem and the police confiscates the money, I can't say anything, but he can't keep holding on to the money and not return it."

Yu added that he'd also contacted the recipient to try and recover the money in June 2023 when his father fell seriously ill and was hospitalised, and again in July after his father had passed, to no avail.

Police told Shin Min that they've received a report and the case is still under investigation.

Worried cash could be used in money laundering

When contacted by Shin Min, the director of the logistics company, Guo Fei, cast doubts on Yu's claims and requested for the latter to provide proof that there was no intention to scam or defraud others.

He pointed out that the account numbers of the intended recipient and his company is very different and it would be improbable for the cash to be wrongly transferred. He also doesn't rule out the possibility that the cash could be legitimate payment made to the company for their services.

When asked if it was possible to check the company's accounts, Guo told Shin Min that he has transferred the ownership to another person and is unable to do so. He also stated that Yu would have to provide the evidence to prove his innocence.

According to Shin Min's checks with the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority, Guo is still listed as the company's director and only shareholder.

A lawyer whom Shin Min spoke to, however, stated that in such a situation, the logistics company would not have legal right to keep the sum of money. He added that if deemed suspicious, the money ought to be handed over to the police, and Yu would be able to pursue its return through legal or civil means. 

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candicecai@asiaone.com