He stole money to gamble

His job required him to collect cash from customers for the sale of goods, but he took the money and gambled it away at the Marina Bay Sands casino.

Lee Yee Mun, 31, a sales executive with Kian Ho Bearings, took sales proceeds worth more than S$12,500 and lost it at the casino.

Last Wednesday, Lee was jailed eight months after pleading guilty to criminal breach of trust by misappropriating the cash for his own use. He could have been jailed up to 15 years and fined.

With his head bowed, Lee pleaded for leniency and said he had realised his mistake.

But he had lost all the money he took and did not have any left to repay the company.

On Dec 1, last year, Lee had joined Kian Ho Bearings, a main board-listed company which stocks and distributes a wide range of bearings, factory automation and other products.

Just one month into the job, Lee,who was minding the counter and collecting payment from customers, started misappropriating the cash for his own use.

Between Jan 5 and April 7, he took more than $12,500 from the daily sales proceeds entrusted to him.

This article was first published in The New Paper.