Woman accused of causing husband’s death charged with offences including cheating

SINGAPORE: A woman accused of causing her husband’s death by performing a rash act with a knife was handed 12 more charges on Feb 21 for offences including cheating.

Baniyah Shap, 51, is now accused of six counts each of cheating and engaging in a conspiracy with several unknown people to facilitate unauthorised access to the computer systems of multiple banks.

Last December, she was charged with being in possession of a weapon in a public place and causing her husband’s death by performing a rash act.

For her latest charges, court documents state that she allegedly worked with others to cheat UOB Bank in June 2022.

She is said to have deceived the bank by opening an account in her name, which she allegedly did so that the account could be used by others.

Baniyah is also accused of sharing the Internet banking details linked to the bank account with an unknown person for transactions to be made – an offence under the Computer Misuse Act.

She is accused of committing similar offences linked to RHB Bank Singapore, Standard Chartered Bank (Singapore), CIMB Bank, POSB/DBS Bank and HSBC Bank until July 2023.

Baniyah first made the headlines after she was allegedly involved in a scuffle with her husband, Mohamed Ali Saaban, 62, at the void deck of Block 631 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 4 shortly before midnight on Dec 11, 2023.

Ali suffered a puncture wound from a foldable knife.

Details about the wound and its location were not disclosed in court documents.

In an earlier statement, the police said Ali was unconscious when he was rushed to hospital and died the next day.

Baniyah’s case has been adjourned to March 20.

For each cheating charge, an offender can be jailed for up to three years and fined.

And for each charge under the Computer Misuse Act, a first-time offender can be jailed for up to two years and fined up to $5,000.

A repeat offender can be jailed for up to three years and fined up to $10,000. - The Straits Times/ANN