Student spends $1m mistakenly credited to her bank account (photos)

Sibongile Mani, 28, was arrested by the police’s serious commercial crime unit after she was asked to turn herself in, Anelisa Feni, spokeswoman for an elite police unit, the Hawks, said, Times Live SA reports.

She qualified last year for 1,400-rand ($110) in monthly food allowances from the National Students Financial Aid Scheme, which aids underprivileged students. Instead, she was accidentally given $1.1 million in June and went on a spending spree, splurging on expensive clothing, a smartphone and partying. 

It took the scheme three months to detect the error. It recovered the remainder of the funds from her bank account. At the court appearance on Tuesday, May 29, Mani was reportedly released on a warning and ordered to appear again on July 2.