Man attacked in his home
A 95-year-old man from Australia has been targeted by three gamblers who stole AU$6,250 (£3,400; $4,300) of his life savings.
The three saw the victim carrying the money at The Star Sydney casino before they followed him home, pushed him onto a milk crate, and grabbed his money, reports the Flinders News.
One of the gamblers, Amandeep Singh, who was 26 years old at the time, doesn’t appear to have been remorseful. According to the report, when police caught up with them and accused them of stealing the money, Singh said: “Yeah, that’s why we gave him back $100 so he can eat.”
Prior to the attack, the three gamblers had been at The Star casino, where they had lost a lot of money. It was here that they noticed the 95-year-old taking the money out of his pocket and decided to follow him home. Agreed documents state that:
The offenders followed the victim on the light rail to Central railway station, on the train to Strathfield station, on another train to Concord West station, and then on foot to the victim’s residence.
Once inside his home, the three gamblers proceeded to knock on his front door. Upon answering he was knocked out of the way and pushed onto a milk crate inside. One of his assailants covered his mouth while a second went through his pockets to retrieve the money. Before leaving they left him AU$100 (£55; $69.60).
They then went back to the casino to gamble and lost all of the stolen money.
Singh, who arrived in Australia in 2015 on a student visa, had initially gambled away AU$5,000 (£2,756; $3,478) that his father had sent to him from India in order to pay his tuition fees. In total, though, it’s reported that he gambled away almost AU$50,000 (£27,570; $34,800) of his parents’ retirement fund.
Highlighting his gambling problems, Judge Siobhan Herbert, said: “He gambled between $1,000 and $5,000 per day and went to the Crown casino in Melbourne even when he had no money.”
As a result of his actions, Singh’s maximum term is four years and six months in prison.
Taking drastic action
Gambling can be an enjoyable pastime for many; they set the amount they want to play with and leave when that money has gone. For others, though, it can be an experience that quickly spirals out of control.
For example, last month it was reported that a 23-year-old Japanese man had taken AU$140,000 (£75,400; $96,300) from his employer before losing it all in four hours at the Crown Casino in Melbourne.
In other cases, the need to gamble is so high that bettors are willing to leave their young children inside a vehicle – often locked – while they attend a casino. At the beginning of June, it was reported that a 29-year-old was facing charges after leaving his 76-year-old grandmother, who has dementia, locked in a vehicle for 16 hours to gamble at a casino.
Unfortunately, when it comes to gambling behavior it seems that many are willing to take drastic action if it means they may have a chance of winning it big with the next bet.