Andrew Che Sit Bong lost his life savings after sending it to the wrong account. Barclays Bank refunded his money after a prolonged battle. Video / Jason Dorday
A woman accused of receiving $158,000 from an Auckland pensioner in an account transfer error has appeared in court and pleaded not guilty to theft.
The 38-year-old appeared in Auckland District Court today alongside a 37-year-old man who is charged with receiving $64,000.
The pair were granted interimsuppression until their next appearance in July, citing undue hardship if their names were made public.
It’s alleged the pair spent the money on cars and cash transfers, including thousands of dollars sent to a relative overseas.
In January last year, Mt Roskill pensioner Andrew Che Sit Bong tried to transfer his life savings from Barclays Bank in the UK to his Auckland Westpac account.
However, his money was lost after he missed a single digit when entering the recipient account details.
The 78-year-old told the Herald he was using an old computer with a “sticky keyboard” and one of the account numbers failed to register.
It meant he keyed in only 15 digits, not the intended 16. Westpac then added a zero to the suffix as per its normal protocols.
The new number sequence was for a valid account and police say the money was accidentally sent to the female defendant.
Che has criticised Westpac for not checking that the receiving account name matched that on his payment instructions.
But Westpac has defended its actions, saying there is no name-checking system for international payments and blaming Che for the account transfer error.
Andrew Che Sit Bong lost $158,000 after accidentally sending his money to the wrong bank account number. Photo / Michael Craig
Police initially refused to investigate, saying it was a civil matter, but reopened the file after intervention from National’s Mt Roskill MP Carlos Cheung.
The Herald reported last week that finally, 16 months after the money was lost, police had laid charges against two individuals.
“An investigator from the Auckland Financial Crime Unit has issued a court summons over this matter,” police said.
A 38-year-old West Auckland woman was charged with theft. It is alleged she “dealt with” Che’s money “with intent to deprive” him permanently of the funds.
A 37-year-old West Auckland man was charged with receiving $64,000, “having been reckless” as to whether the money was “obtained by an imprisonable offence”.
Retired University of Auckland law professor Bill Hodge said the pair were facing “garden variety” charges under the Crimes Act.
Hodge said the “finders keepers” rule was not a valid principle in law.
“In law, when you find something, you do not have automatic good title to the property, whether it’s deposited [into your account] or you find it on the street.”
Che unexpectedly received a full refund last month from Barclays after a 15-month battle for compensation.
He told the Herald it was important for the police to lay charges to send a message that they did not condone criminal activity.
“It’s a warning to other people. Please don’t do it.”
Lane Nichols is a senior journalist and Auckland desk editor for the New Zealand Herald with more than 20 years’ experience in the industry.
