Saturday, October 28, 2006

Former Commonwealth Bank employee Erick Tjandra, 32, was jailed for a
minimum three years on 37 counts of defrauding the bank. Over a 15-month
period Tjandra stole $10.4 million from the bank, $8 million of which he
"poured down the throat of the casino'', District Court Judge Christopher
Armitage said today.
The casino had allowed the bank clerk to play in the high-rollers room alone
against the house, Judge Armitage said. ''(It was) the height of
irresponsibility for the casino to have placed such a vulnerable person in
the situation of gambling in what is called the Kerry Packer Room, against
the house,'' he said. "He was not Kerry Packer, he is not ... an Asian
prince. "He is a humble bank clerk who unfortunately developed a gambling
addiction beyond his means.'' Tjandra was sentenced to five years' jail with
a non-parole period of three years. He will be eligible for release in
October 2009.