By Cam Lucadou-Wells
A worker smuggled out scores of baby formula tins from a Coles supermarket to help fund his gambling addiction, a court has heard.
Aries Kim, 21, of Springvale, pleaded guilty to stealing $7500 worth of the milk powder from his Parkmore shopping centre workplace.
He also pleaded guilty to stealing back two vehicles that he’d previously sold.
The ruse was up in March when a store manager discovered open cartons for baby formula stashed in a back room area.
On four occasions in the next two weeks, Kim was surveilled smuggling out baby formula in two sports bags and taking them home.
During the spree, he arrived at work dressed in uniform even while he was not rostered to steal the powder.
Police surveillance observed about 112 tins being loaded into a vehicle that attended Kim’s home, as well as a number of people coming and going.
Police raided Kim’s house on 26 March, seizing 43 tins of baby formula as well as the two sports bags in his bedroom.
An audit at the time found that 1766 tins of baby formula worth $36,567 had been stolen from Parkmore Coles, police told the court.
On average, Coles stores were reporting between 30 to 60 tins being stolen in the same period.
Kim also pleaded guilty to the theft of two BMWs – cars that he’d previously sold. One of the car owners had the BMW stolen from their driveway after listing it for sale on Facebook Marketplace.
In the other case, Kim provided just one key for the BMW during a swapping of cars. He later stole the vehicle back in Chadstone shopping centre car park during a ‘sale’ organised online.
A defence lawyer said Kim’s offending was fuelled by betting on the roulette tables at Crown Casino three times a week.
He laid down bets of thousands of dollars at a time and acquired a significant debt, his lawyer said.
Magistrate Jack Vandersteen said Kim’s thieving was motivated by gambling and to improve his own assets but “it led to nothing”.
Kim’s moral culpability was higher because of the degree of forethought, planning and manipulation in his crimes, Mr Vandersteen said.
However, it was destined to unravel in the “fullness of time”.
Courts needed to send a message to deter people from similar thefts from workplaces. Such crimes were a “breach of trust”, Mr Vandersteen said.
In mitigation, Kim was young, gave an early guilty plea, had no prior convictions and was cooperative with police.
Kim was placed on an 18-month supervised community corrections order with 250 hours of voluntary work as well as behavioural programs.
He was ordered to pay $7500 compensation to Coles, and disqualified from driving for six months.
