Bridgetown motel worker risks visa cancellation after stealing $11,500 from employer to bet on basketball

Carly LadenBunbury Herald
Camera IconBunbury Courthouse. Credit: Carly Laden/South Western Times

A Bridgetown motel worker who stole $9000 from the business to bet on a US basketball game and another $2500 to try to recover the lost funds by making more bets is staring down the possibility of his visa being cancelled.

Nilesh KC appeared in Bunbury Magistrate’s Court on Thursday where he was placed on a six-month intensive supervision order after pleading guilty to two counts of stealing as a servant.

The court was told the Nepalese man was working as a manager at Nelson’s of Bridgetown, a motel and function centre, and had access to the business’ bank accounts at the time of offending.

On December 19 last year, KC transferred $9000 from the business bank account to his personal account and then used that money to place bets on a US basketball game and ended up losing the bet.

The following day, KC transferred a further $2500 from the Nelson’s of Bridgetown bank account to his own and used that money to place a number of further bets.

Read more...

In an interview with police, he explained he was attempting to recover the $9000 he had lost in his first bet, but was unsuccessful.

In submissions, the court was told KC, who had no prior criminal history, had been working in Australia since 2019, starting off in Queensland before moving to WA’s South West region, and was sending the money he made while working back to his family in Nepal.

In the midst of trying to send as much money back to his family as possible, duty counsel Rhonda Parks said KC “fell into the vicious cycle of gambling”.

Ms Parks also submitted KC, who had since found new employment in Bunbury, was remorseful for his offending and was willing to repay the lost funds back to Nelson’s of Bridgetown.

In sentencing, Magistrate Michelle Harries acknowledged KC’s remorse and deemed the offending to be the result of “poor decision making” that could result in his working visa being cancelled.

Although Ms Harries acknowledged the offending was “spur of the moment”, she told KC it “breached the trust of your employer”.

Along with being subject to the intensive supervision order, which includes supervision and program requirements, KC was also ordered to repay the $11,500 he stole from Nelson’s of Bridgetown.

Get the latest news from thewest.com.au in your inbox.

Sign up for our emails