A restaurant manager who stole $32,000 to pay medical bills for his disabled toddler and himself has been jailed.
Mesulame Tadulala (42) was sentenced to nine months' imprisonment when he appeared in the Queenstown District Court yesterday.
The Fijian father of four had earlier admitted one representative charge of theft by a person in a special relationship.
Judge Michael Callaghan accepted Tadulala's explanation of his motive for stealing from his employer over a six-month period.
''Your counsel rightly points out this theft was not, as is so often the case, a result of someone wanting to live an outlandish lifestyle but was for medical reasons for you and your family.''
Tadulala told police he used the money to pay medical expenses for his disabled 3-year-old daughter.
He had also paid for specialist investigation and treatment for his own alleged kidney issue.
However, Judge Callaghan said the offending was ''premeditated and systematic'', there had been a substantial ''breach of trust'' and a sentence must act as a denunciation and a deterrent to others.
A sentence of community or home detention was unavailable, as Tadulala does not have the means to support himself financially through such a sentence.
His family, who like him were sponsored by the employer, have left the country.
Judge Callaghan said the offending was relatively sophisticated as Tadulala had found a loophole through a supposedly foolproof system.
Prosecuting Sergeant Ian Collin said Tadulala discovered a method for voiding cash records for customers paying cash for food and beverages.
''At times customer bookings for meals require voiding, deleting, from the system as their meal was included in the bed and breakfast package.
''The defendant, to avoid detection during the payment of cash by customers, has been receiving the cash, printing out the receipt for the customer, then using his discovered technique ... taking the money.''
A human resources manager reported missing takings of between $700 and $800 on February 24.
A investigation discovered ongoing and historic discrepancies.
Tadulala, identified as the culprit through CCTV and software examinations, was interviewed by police on March 6 and admitted stealing money.
He also stated he felt underpaid, working 12 and 16-hour days.
He had worked at the South Island restaurant for six years.
Details leading to the identification of the restaurant were suppressed by the judge.
Judge Callaghan credited Tadulala a 25% discount on a starting point of 14 months' imprisonment for his early guilty plea, and 15% for good character.
