NUH employee who stole colleague's ATM card and took S$25,000 jailed 7 months
SINGAPORE: An employee at the National University Hospital (NUH) who stole a total of S$25,000 from her colleague using her ATM card was sentenced to seven months' jail on Tuesday (Sep 4).
Sharifah Mohamed, 29, worked as a service associate at NUH, performing general administrative duties at the wards and clinics. Her colleague Sushma Sukanya Mohan, 30, worked as a staff nurse in the delivery suite.
AdvertisementIn December 2016, Ms Sushma gave Sharifah the key to her locker so that she could place food inside. Sharifah opened the locker and noticed Ms Sushma's POSB ATM card inside.
Sharifah knew the pin number as she had seen her friend keying in the number at an ATM. She stole the card and, between February and April last year, took a total of S$25,000 from her friend's account, either through withdrawals or bank transfers.
Only in May 2017 did Ms Sushma realise there was money missing from her account and that there were records of numerous transactions that she had not performed.
She then lodged a police report.
AdvertisementAdvertisementDeputy Public Prosecutor Thiagesh Sukumaran asked for a sentence of seven months, saying that Sharifah was persistent in her criminal conduct. He added that there was an abuse of trust as the two women were friends.
ACCUSED WAS TRYING TO PAY EX-HUSBAND'S DEBTS: DEFENCE
Defence lawyer Wong Jieh said in his mitigation plea that Sharifah had committed the offences "out of sheer desperation". Her ex-husband had borrowed money from loan sharks and they were harassing her, Mr Wong said.
"Furthermore, Sharifah was faced with immense stress and pressure, and was suffering from mental illness throughout the offences," he said.
Sharifah was diagnosed with Major Depressive Disorder by both NUH and the Institute of Mental Health.
Mr Wong added that Sharifah tried to make restitution, but the victim was unwilling to accept her proposed repayment plan.
District Judge Chay Yuen Fatt sentenced Sharifah to seven months' jail.
She had pleaded guilty to 10 charges, with 25 charges taken into consideration.
Sharifah wrote a letter to the judge apologising for her mistake.
"I really did apologise to Sushma but there was no reply," she wrote. "I really hope you do not put me in prison and allow me to pay Sushma back the amount that I have stolen at least by working I will be able to pay her slowly."
She added that she was a single mother supporting a young daughter and two elderly parents.
A spokesman for NUH told Channel NewsAsia that Sharifah was no longer employed by the hospital.
"The hospital does not condone stealing and expects our employees to uphold integrity and honesty in their conduct," said the spokesman.
For cheating, Sharifah could have been jailed for up to three years, fined, or both.
For conducting the bank transfers, which fall under the Computer Misuse and Cybersecurity Act, she could have been jailed for up to two years, fined up to S$5,000, or both.
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SINGAPORE: An employee at the National University Hospital (NUH) who stole a total of S$25,000 from her colleague using her ATM card was sentenced to seven months' jail on Tuesday (Sep 4).
Sharifah Mohamed, 29, worked as a service associate at NUH, performing general administrative duties at the wards and clinics. Her colleague Sushma Sukanya Mohan, 30, worked as a staff nurse in the delivery suite.
AdvertisementIn December 2016, Ms Sushma gave Sharifah the key to her locker so that she could place food inside. Sharifah opened the locker and noticed Ms Sushma's POSB ATM card inside.
Sharifah knew the pin number as she had seen her friend keying in the number at an ATM. She stole the card and, between February and April last year, took a total of S$25,000 from her friend's account, either through withdrawals or bank transfers.
Only in May 2017 did Ms Sushma realise there was money missing from her account and that there were records of numerous transactions that she had not performed.
She then lodged a police report.
AdvertisementAdvertisementDeputy Public Prosecutor Thiagesh Sukumaran asked for a sentence of seven months, saying that Sharifah was persistent in her criminal conduct. He added that there was an abuse of trust as the two women were friends.
ACCUSED WAS TRYING TO PAY EX-HUSBAND'S DEBTS: DEFENCE
Defence lawyer Wong Jieh said in his mitigation plea that Sharifah had committed the offences "out of sheer desperation". Her ex-husband had borrowed money from loan sharks and they were harassing her, Mr Wong said.
"Furthermore, Sharifah was faced with immense stress and pressure, and was suffering from mental illness throughout the offences," he said.
Sharifah was diagnosed with Major Depressive Disorder by both NUH and the Institute of Mental Health.
Mr Wong added that Sharifah tried to make restitution, but the victim was unwilling to accept her proposed repayment plan.
District Judge Chay Yuen Fatt sentenced Sharifah to seven months' jail.
She had pleaded guilty to 10 charges, with 25 charges taken into consideration.
Sharifah wrote a letter to the judge apologising for her mistake.
"I really did apologise to Sushma but there was no reply," she wrote. "I really hope you do not put me in prison and allow me to pay Sushma back the amount that I have stolen at least by working I will be able to pay her slowly."
She added that she was a single mother supporting a young daughter and two elderly parents.
A spokesman for NUH told Channel NewsAsia that Sharifah was no longer employed by the hospital.
"The hospital does not condone stealing and expects our employees to uphold integrity and honesty in their conduct," said the spokesman.
For cheating, Sharifah could have been jailed for up to three years, fined, or both.
For conducting the bank transfers, which fall under the Computer Misuse and Cybersecurity Act, she could have been jailed for up to two years, fined up to S$5,000, or both.
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