WOMAN WHO SPENT RM14.3m AFTER BANK ERROR WON’T BE CHARGED

Charges dropped against Malaysian who used unlimited overdraft

PROSECUTORS have dropped all charges against a 21-year-old Malaysian woman, who allegedly spent A$4.6million (RM14.26 million) on designer goods, after she had been unwittingly provided with an unlimited overdraft account by her Australian bank.

Christine Jiaxin Lee, who was pursuing a degree Chemical Engineering in Sydney University, had allegedly splurged on designer handbags, clothes, jewellery, mobile phones and even a vacuum cleaner over the period of 11 months, according to local media.

News portal news.com.au, however, reported that prosecutors dropped charges on Lee following a similar case involving a man, who was charged with fraud for withdrawing A$2.1 million (RM6.51 million) from automated-teller machines, had been thrown out of court.

The office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) also confirmed with The Straits Times that the charges was withdrawn on Nov 2.

Lee’s lawyer, Hugo Aston, also told the Daily Telegraph his client would be moving back to Malaysia following the outcome of the case.

“She is happy it is behind her, and move on with her life.

“There was no deception. It’s a very interesting case and an interesting outcome.

“It is obviously clear that the bank should adopt better policies,” Aston was quoted as saying.

The news.com.au reported, however, that it remains unclear if the seized items would be returned to the student.

The error was discovered by Westpac Bank in April 2015 and a senior manager had phoned Lee, demanding she reveals where the missing millions were.

The student claimed that she believed the money had been transferred into her account by her parents.

She was also reported applying for an emergency Malaysian passport when police had tried to contact her.

Lee was arrested in May 2015 at Sydney’s Kingsford Smith Airport, as she was about to board a flight to Malaysia.

Senior banking officials admitted to the Daily Telegraph the bungle was a “big, fat banking error”.

They were also forced to track down more than A$1.3 million (RM4.03 million), which Lee had allegedly hidden in multiple private accounts.

A Westpac spokesman said that it had taken all possible steps to recover its funds, including taking civil action against Lee.

“The criminal charges against Lee were a matter for the DPP and police, and we respect their decision.”