Former bank manager Kim David Faithfull will
today walk into a Perth courtroom and argue why he should spend only
five years in prison.
Faithfull was last year convicted of stealing almost $19 million from
his Karratha Commonwealth Bank branch, in Western Australia's north, to
fund a five-year gambling frenzy.
After Faithfull was sentenced to five years jail in October, the West
Australian Director of Public Prosecutions lodged an appeal arguing his
punishment was "totally inadequate".
That appeal will start today in the state's Court of Criminal Appeal.
Faithfull was a small-time gambler until technology allowed him to
place unlimited bets discreetly over the internet with betting
operators.
Thus the amounts he stole increased dramatically.
The investigation into Faithfull's thefts took an unexpected twist
last month when the home and offices of one of the country's biggest
betting operators were raided by police.
The raid on Mark Read and his IASbet online and phone betting
operation sent shockwaves through Australia's betting industry.
Although no charges have been laid against Read, the raid follows a
South Australian Supreme Court decision in which online bookmaker
Sportingbet was last year ordered to pay back more than $2.6 million to
a company after an employee stole $22 million to gamble.
