Home detention for theft

A Chubb security guard has been sentenced to eight months' home detention after stealing ASB Bank bags containing $90,000.

Afemai Vui Lua, 27, was sentenced in the Auckland District Court on Wednesday after pleading guilty to offending between April and July 2008.

Vui Lua stole 20 bags containing cash and cheques while taking them to Chubb's base in Freemans Bay, Auckland.

He was fired after an internal investigation, and police later found 17 empty bags at his Papatoetoe home. More than $34,000 in cash is still outstanding.

Judge Josephine Bouchier said the offending was a breach of trust. "It was probably opportunistic to begin with but afterwards there was a certain degree of premeditation." She ordered Vui Lua to pay $15,000 in reparations.

Defence lawyer Norman Te Kanawa-Gwynne said Vui Lua had taken the money after falling behind on hire-purchase repayments.

A victim impact statement from the security firm read out in court said his offending had cast suspicion on other employees. "This person has damaged the company's reputation with his deception."

Chubb stopped its cash transit business in New Zealand last July.

An ASB spokeswoman said Chubb and the bank had undertaken "a full review of the incident". They were working with the police to ensure appropriate security procedures and practices were followed in all cases.