Burnaby Now<\/i> reports. <\/a><\/span><\/p>\n At the time, his elder brother was battling cancer. Despite Leung\u2019s efforts to support him financially, his brother ultimately died from the illness. <\/span><\/p>\n\u201cHis older brother was diagnosed with late-stage cancer, and Mr Leung felt he needed to provide his brother financial support, as the treatments were quite expensive,\u201d his lawyer Julia Hung said, as quoted by BN.<\/i><\/span><\/p>\nMitigating Circumstances<\/span><\/b><\/h2>\nLeung pleaded guilty last Wednesday to one count of theft under $5,000 between Jan. 1 and May 10, 2020, when he was fired by the casino. The property is owned by Gateway Casinos and headquartered in Burnaby. Leung had worked for the company for 13 years.<\/span><\/p>\nThe married father of an adult daughter was originally accused of taking more than $5,000, which he palmed from gaming tables into his pocket, according to court records seen by BN.<\/i> But the charge was reduced at his sentencing hearing. <\/span><\/p>\n\n
BC provincial court Judge James Sutherland ordered Leung to pay back $2,500, to stay away from the casino, and to write an apology letter. <\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\nSentencing, Sutherland emphasized that employee theft is a \u201cvery serious offense.\u201d But he chose leniency, citing Leung\u2019s lack of criminal record, efforts towards rehabilitation, and other mitigating circumstances.<\/span><\/p>\nMaking Amends<\/span><\/b><\/h2>\nCrown prosecutor Sharon Preston had called for an additional 12-month suspended sentence. However, Sutherland determined this was not necessary, as Leung had \u201ca lot to offer the community if the doors of opportunity are open to him.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\nThe Crown would normally press for prison time in the case of employee theft. But Preston acknowledged Leung had taken \u201creal steps\u201d to make amends.<\/span><\/p>\n\n
Hung said Leung had already suffered from the consequences of his action, including shame, job loss, and difficulty finding employment following his termination by Grand Villa Casinos.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\nPreston praised Leung\u2019s guilty plea and noted he had taken counseling sessions at his own expense. Leung had also voluntarily undertaken around 100 hours of community service with the Greater Vancouver Food Bank and Oceanwise Shoreline Cleanups.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A former employee of the Grand Villa Casino in Burnaby, Metro Vancouver, fired for palming thousands of dollars\u2019 worth of chips off of gaming tables, has been spared prison. That\u2019s after the Vancouver provincial court learned that Kim Shing Leung, 58, had taken the chips in an effort to shoulder the costs of medical treatment, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":245575,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[81887,60],"tags":[83716,83931,83930],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Grand Villa Casino Worker 'Stole Chips for Dying Brother,' Spared Prison<\/title>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n