Woman who stole over $6,800 from Yacht Club gets 1 year 3 months' jail
She lied about not having a criminal record when applying for a job at the SAF Yacht Club and later stole over $6,800 in cash from the company as a customer service assistant.
When confronted about the theft, Jai Chithra Sunmugvale, 42, claimed the cash was not secure in the safe and that she had brought it home for safekeeping.
Jai also cheated her way into collecting rent on behalf of her sister-in-law when she was not authorised to do so.
On Thursday (April 7), she was sentenced to a year and three months' jail after pleading guilty to one count each of criminal breach of trust and cheating.
A further 50 days' jail was added to her sentence as she had committed the offences while on remission for previous convictions.
The court heard that Jai's responsibilities as a customer service assistant at the yacht club included manning the front desk, accepting cash payments and recording the transactions.
Before leaving work each day, she had to transfer the money from the cash register into a safe, to which she had the combination.
On Nov 29, 2020, Jai secretly kept $235 in cash that had been paid by a customer and also emptied the cash register of $6,635, which she took home.
She spent all of it on household expenses and other financial obligations.
The next day, one of Jai's colleagues discovered the shortfall in the cash in the safe and informed an operations executive.
When questioned, the accused admitted to taking the money home with her and claimed to have forgotten to return it.
Separately, in December 2020, Jai agreed to help her sister-in-law, 39, look for a flat to buy.
After a unit was chosen and the option to purchase signed, the seller of the flat said she needed more time to look for a home.
Jai told the seller she could continue staying in the flat for $1,200 a month.
She took a month's payment from the seller even though her sister-in-law had not given her permission to rent out the flat.
Jai's sister-in-law alerted the police.
Seeking a sentence of 13 to 16 months' jail with 51 days' enhanced punishment, Deputy Public Prosecutor Bryont Chin said Jai was unremorseful as she gave spurious defences after her theft was discovered.
He noted that this was not her first brush with the law, as she had committed similar offences in 2006 and 2019.
Jai, who was unrepresented, pleaded with the judge for leniency, saying that she has a three-year-old daughter.
"My child is in the care of my aged mother, who is 73. Being away from her is more excruciating than being locked up here," said Jai, who appeared via video-link while in remand.
For criminal breach of trust, an offender can be jailed for up to 15 years and fined.
Cheating carries a jail term of up to 10 years and a fine.
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