Heavily pregnant fraudster jailed
A heavily pregnant woman was taken straight back to hospital by Corrections staff, after being sentenced to nineteen months’ prison for $9188 of dishonesty offending.
Christchurch District Court Judge David Saunders said Rosie-Jeanne Rita Sew Hoy, 24, had already had three children removed from her care because of her addiction to alcohol.
He said she would be detained in a specialised unit for mothers and babies at the prison, which would enable her to get some parenting skills.
He sentenced her on five theft charges, eight charges of obtaining by deception, and two of causing loss by deception.
Defence counsel Tom Smedley said Sew Hoy was having difficulties with her pregnancy which were being monitored, but she had stopped drinking during it.
Judge Saunders said Sew Hoy had been bailed on dishonesty charges, and within a few weeks was offending again.
One victim of her offending wrote in her report that the only way Sew Hoy could make the offending right was to pay back the money she stole, even if it was only at $2 a week.
Judge Saunders said from February 2015 Sew Hoy deceived people by using their driver’s licences, and Facebook, to obtain money that she used to buy alcohol. She also stole petrol from service stations.
Sew Hoy had previous community detention and supervision sentences, but still chose the pathway of taking money from innocent people.
He said she expressed sorrow but could not deliver on reparation, which was also still owed from previous offending and fines.
He sentenced her to 19 months’ prison, and said she was to pay reparation of $9188.
Judge Saunders declined her defence counsel’s request to grant leave to apply for home detention.
Category: Focus
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