Police v Uale [2010] WSSC 113 (21 June 2010)

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF SAMOA
HELD AT MULINUU

BETWEEN:

THE POLICE
Informant

AND:

JOANNE UALE,
female of Moamoa and Tafitoala Safata.
Defendant

Counsels: Ms F. Vaai and Ms T. Nelson for prosecution
Defendant unrepresented

Sentence: 21 June 2010

SENTENCE OF NELSON J.

This defendants appears for sentence on 11 counts of falsifying accounts and 11 counts of theft as a servant which are punishable by 5 years in prison and 7 years respectively. Defendant was cashier for a wholesale company in Apia. The amount involved in these thefts in total was $14,316.30 and they were committed over a three months period from January to March this year. The individual amounts are broken down among the charges against the defendant in the summary of facts which she has accepted.

This is theft of a large amount over a small period of time and the documents in this matter indicate that there was a degree of sophistication involved in the defendant's offending. The summary of facts indicates that as cashier the defendant was primarily responsible for taking customer orders and receiving payments for orders. The general practice was once a customer makes an order the defendant would issue two invoices and what is called a "picking ticket". One invoice is kept by the casher, the other and the ticket are given to the customer for release of the goods. It appears the defendant would issue these documents to customers but after the goods were released and the transactions concluded she would make entries into the company's, presumably computer system which reversed the original transactions and corresponding invoices so that it would reflect cancellation of the purchases and a subsequent return of the goods, which did not happen. And in carrying out these transactions the summary of facts relates that the defendant would use her colleagues computers interchangeably in order to avoid suspicion falling on her. However, the funds involved were still in the defendant's possession and these reversed transactions were not reflected in her daily summary. The defendant would then dispose of the original sales documents either in part or totally so that it would seem as if the cash was balanced and she would pocket the cash that was excess or left.

She carried out these acts on 11 separate occasions which has led to the 11 charges of theft as a servant and 11 charges of falsifying accounts. As noted the theft as a servant charges carries a maximum penalty of 7 years and the falsifying accounts a maximum of 5 years imprisonment. The sentences for this sort of offending Joanne in other cases has ranged from 18 months to 2 years imprisonment for first offenders who have pleaded guilty, and you are a first offender who has pleaded guilty and has expressed remorse for your offending. Given the sophistication involved in commission of these offences the application of the upper limit of this range of penalties is appropriate in this case and I note this is also in accordance with the prosecution submission.

In respect of these matters therefore as a total sentence for the theft as a servant charges the defendant will be convicted and sentenced to 2 years in prison. As a total sentence for the 11 falsifying accounts charges the defendant will be convicted and sentenced to 18 months in prison. These terms are to be served concurrently so that the defendant will serve only 2 years imprisonment.

JUSTICE NELSON