Thieving mom escapes jail time

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File photo

Published Aug 19, 2015

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Durban - A Scottburgh mother of two escaped jail time for the theft of almost R39 000 from her former employer when her appeal against sentence was successful on Tuesday.

Samantha Aroomugum, 34, was sentenced to an effective one year in prison.

Aroomugum’s appeal took seven years to come to the Pietermaritzburg High Court, and she was on bail of R1 000 pending the finalisation of her appeal.

The reason for the lengthy delay was due to part of the magistrate’s court records not being typed and available for the appeal court.

Aroomugum was arrested in November 2007 and pleaded guilty in the Scottburgh Magistrate’s Court to theft of R38 805 from Lynton Hall Hotel in Pennington from December 2006 to August 2007.

She was employed as a finance administration clerk at the hotel and handled cash which was used to purchase stock and other items required for use in the hotel.

In her plea, Aroomugum said she and her husband had been experiencing financial problems during 2006 due to a difficult pregnancy and the added medical expenses.

She said her living expenses were also “out of control”, and she was tempted to steal.

When her theft was uncovered, she immediately came clean with her employer and confessed to the crime.

With the help of her husband, Aroomugum took out a loan and paid back the stolen money to Lynton Hall Hotel.

Following her plea, both the prosecutor and defence attorneys agreed that a prison term was not called for and both parties consented to a period of correctional supervision.

However, in her judgment, Magistrate A Harrison found that Aroomugum had acted in bad faith and emphasised that theft from an employer was a breach of trust that required a period of time behind bars.

Harrison sentenced Aroomugum to two years, one year of which was suspended.

Appeal Judges Anton Van Zyl and Thoba Poyo-Dlwati however found that the magistrate had misdirected herself by overemphasising deterrence and retribution.

“Aroomugum was a first offender, who had two minor children at the time of the incident. Her incarceration will also negatively affect their interests. She was tempted into thievery because of a bad personal financial situation,” Judge van Zyl said.

He added that the state and defence had both agreed that Aroomugum was a suitable candidate for correctional supervision, more so because she had paid back the money she had stolen at great prejudice to her family.

The judge said that after also taking into account that it has been seven years since Aroomugum was sentenced, the only appropriate sentence was a wholly suspended sentence.

Daily News

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