A South African student, Scholar Sibongile Mani, who accidentally received $1 million (£850,000/ 14 million rand) instead of her monthly $100 (£85 /1,785 rand) food grant has escaped jail time after spending a large amount in merely 73 days.
According to Ghana Web, Mani was stunned after receiving the large amount of financial aid sent by the government. When the student discovered the funds in her account, she went on a shopping spree, reports Daily Mail.
How The Student Got Caught
As she upgraded her style, wardrobe, and lifestyle of her and her friends, officials began to catch on noticing that she was spending up to £666 (13,954 Rand/$849) per day, which reports say is considerable a lot of money for the typical South African citizen. She was later caught after she left her receipt at a supermarket revealing that she had £800,000 in her bank account. Officials were then alerted. Mani was initially arrested back in 2017 and charged with fraud and theft. She was later sentenced to five years behind bars after spending nearly 818,000 rand, which was equivalent to almost $61,000 back in 2017.
Mani’s Court Proceedings
In court, she said she believed the money was a present from God and revealed that she didn’t properly assess the situation before spending the funds. The attorney representing the student argued that she did not engage in fraudulent activity to acquire the funds. Therefore, it would be unjust to incarcerate her in a congested jail, considering that it was the government that deposited the money into her account
Afterward, the judge decided to temporarily put on hold the five-year sentence imposed on Mani, reasoning that she would refrain from committing fraud and theft within that period. Subsequently, she received a 14-week sentence of community service along with counseling and was not instructed to reimburse the money.
#Clique, what are your thoughts?
