M’sian tells court she thought rich parents gave the millions

PETALING JAYA: The Australian Supreme Court heard recently what Malaysian Christine Jia Xin Lee spent A$4.6 million on when Westpac gave the chemical engineering student an accidental unlimited overdraft facility a few years back.

According to a report by the Sydney Morning Herald (SMH) that quoted Fairfax Media, Lee splurged on designer handbags, diamond necklaces, earrings and rings, including clothes, shoes and even cushions.

The 21-year-old even had a ready answer as to why she kept spending such lavish amounts over an 11-month period — she said her parents were wealthy and she was sure the money came from them.

“I bought clothes, shoes, lots of handbags … They are in my unit at Rhodes,” SMH reported her as saying.

“My mother is coming over to visit me in June and will give the bank a cheque,” she said. “I have [told my parents about it] and they are not very happy with me.”

She reportedly only has A$4000 in cash left.

Her spending frenzy came to an abrupt end when on April 8 last year, Westpac’s senior manager of group investigations, Matt Tregoning, froze her account after the bank’s glitch had been detected.

A day earlier, Lee had transferred A$1.15 million to her PayPal account in 14 transactions over one day, triggering an alert to the bank’s Product Risk unit.

According to SMH, Westpac then quickly obtained court orders to seize all her assets, declare her bankrupt and confiscate her passport, which she said she could not locate.

She was then put on the AFP’s Airport Watch List following a A$5,814.90 purchase at Cathay Pacific Sydney Airport on April 2, 2015.

A warrant of arrest was issued on Lee after she stopped showing up at court or answering calls.

Although a magistrate indicated that criminal charges against Lee may be difficult to prove since it was the bank who gave her the unlimited overdraft facility, Westpac argued that Lee did sign terms and conditions stating she would not overdraw her account.

Although the bank was able to retrieve the A$1.5 million from PayPal, the rest remains outstanding.

The court case continues.

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