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.