Courtesy of: http://www.news.com.au
STAR City Casino has been slammed for acting irresponsibly by letting a lowly bank worker gamble millions of stolen dollars as a celebrated high-roller.
The casino shirked its moral duty when it gave high-roller status to Erick Tjandra, a "minor servant'' of the Commonwealth Bank bank who gambled a stolen $8 million, a Sydney court has been told.
Tjandra, 32, stole $10.4 million from dozens of bank customers over a 15-month period to fund his addiction, the NSW District Court was told today.
The 32-year-old has pleaded guilty to 37 counts of obtaining money by deception between December 2004 and his arrest in March this year.
During sentencing submissions today, Justice Christopher Armitage said Sydney's Star City casino had failed in its "moral responsibility'' by allowing Tjandra to gamble with the high rollers.
"To allow a young man who is obviously a minor servant of the bank to be in the high rollers' room was an irresponsibility,'' he said.
Defence lawyer David Patch said Star City admitted Tjandra to a private gambling room named after late media mogul and multi-millionaire Kerry Packer.
"He was allowed to be alone in what's called the Kerry Packer room and that's private gambling,'' he said.
Judge Armitage said this showed the casino had acted "irresponsibly to a high degree''.
Unlike the late Mr Packer, Tjandra was not a ``well-known millionaire'', Judge Armitage said.
"He was wrongly admitted to gamble to high stakes by himself, privately against the house.''
But Tjandra's fraud offences were very serious, Judge Armitage said. While the bank, and not its customers, was left with the debt, the shareholders were the "real victims'', he said.
He accepted Mr Patch's submission the father of two did not use the money to improve his lifestyle.
"I know he has not received any personal gain from it ... (he) poured it down the throat of the casino,'' Judge Armitage said.
Tjandra was suffering from a pathological gambling disorder and was not fully aware of the consequences of his actions, Mr Patch told the court.
"Pathological gambling is treated as a disability with the result that the offender was not fully aware of the consequences,'' he said.
Mr Patch recommended Tjandra receive a discounted sentence because he had shown genuine remorse, had sought help for his gambling addiction and had entered an early guilty plea.
"It's not just a matter of someone being sorry because they've been caught and they're in trouble and they're going to get punished ... he really is sorry,'' he said.
Tjandra, who is on bail, faces a maximum five years jail for the offences. Judge Armitage adjourned the case for sentencing on October 27.
High-rolling bank thief Erick Tjandra arrives at court today.
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