27th of July 2005
Stamp duty collector, accused of stealing of more than $10 m, has been brought to court.
Keith Jonathan Fernandez, 36, abused his position as a stamp duty collector and is now charged with obtaining financial advantage by deception.
The police allege that out of the $15 million the defendant’s company had managed to collect in stamp taxes, only $5 million were declared.
The undeclared money actually went on gambling at the casino, horse racing and phone betting.
Being an incorrigible punter, Fernandez indulged in gambling and played big to compensate for the huge losses he had, but all in vain. The worst thing is that he used tax payer’s money to pay for his debts.
Due to a horrible lack of supervision, the defendant was allowed to violate the law for 2 years, between February 1998 and October 2000.
The lawyer for defence tried to convince the court that his client was a gambler in perpetual state of denial and cannot, thus, be held responsible for the crime committed.
The court, however, was not convinced and is now considering the sentence.
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