Man wrongly transferred $6,650 to ex-wife — court now orders her to pay over $7,000 due to 'highly unreasonable' conduct
SINGAPORE — Instead of transferring $6,650 to fintech platform Wise, James Jonathan accidentally sent the money to his ex-wife Adel Ng because he had saved her in his contact list as “Wife”.What followed was a six-month legal dispute that involved a police report, an unsuccessful application to strike out the man’s claim and allegations of misconduct against his lawyers.The ex-wife has now been ordered to pay $6,500 in legal costs after a magistrate’s court found that her conduct was “highly unreasonable” and that she had unnecessarily prolonged the dispute.In a judgment released on Sept 7, Deputy Registrar Mark Lim said the case could have been resolved immediately after the mistaken transfer.Instead, the $6,650 ended up with the police and the case went to court.The former couple had divorced in 2021 but remained in contact over matters, including access to their child.After Jonathan mistakenly transferred the money to Ng on Dec 7, 2025, he sent her at least 10 e-mails between Dec 7 and Dec 15, asking her to return the money.She did not reply.