Share
9th November 2023
12:32pm GMT
A student who was relying on benefits to pay for her studies was left stunned when £850,000 landed in her account instead of her usual £85 grant.
Scholar Sibongile Mani, 32, was studying at Walter Sisulu University in South Africa when she woke up to find 14 million rand in her account - 10,000 times the amount she should have been sent by the government aid scheme.
Sibongile had no hesitation in spending the money, and went on a huge shopping spree purchasing designer clothes, the latest iPhone and an expensive weave.
Along with shopping, the student enjoyed nights of partying during which she brought bottles of scotch worth £100. And during the day, she was spending more than £600 regularly.
Sibongile was only caught out when she left a bank receipt behind at a supermarket which showed she had the equivalent of £800,000 in her bank.
After she was reported to the police and arrested in 2017, Sibongile was charged with theft and fraud and sentenced to five years behind bars.
She later wrote on her personal blog that she saw the staggering amount as "miracle money" and a "gift from God," and therefore "didn't think twice" about spending it.
Following an appeal from her lawyer though, two judges agreed to suspend the jail sentence providing she did not commit theft or fraud in that time, the Mirror reports.
She had to complete 14 weeks of community service and undergo counselling - but was told she didn't have to pay back any of the money she spent.
Her lawyer said: "She is very relieved and very happy that she does not have to go to prison and is looking to putting all this behind her and starting again.
"She is putting her life which was left in tatters back together again and is looking forward to starting afresh and is very grateful that the court took the decisions that it took."
Branch secretary of the South African Students Congress Mr Samkelo Mqhayi was the person who reported Mani to the NSFAS.
He told Herald Live at the time: "She was just suddenly spending so much. Her supermarket receipt which was leaked showed she had 13.6m rand in her account and she had been throwing parties for her friends and showering them with gifts without worry."
The student isn't the first person to have tried to make the most of a banking error, but it can land you in a lot of trouble, with some having felt the heavy hand of the law in the past after spending money they mistakenly received.
Related links:
Explore more on these topics:
