盜用公款召妓的議員

Craig Thomson found guilty of fraud, theft charges

Former federal MP Craig Thomson has been found guilty of some of the fraud and theft charges against him, but acquitted of others, by a magistrate.

Magistrate Charlie Rozencwajg returned the mixed verdict on Tuesday after overseeing the trial against Thomson, who was accused of misusing union funds while head of the Health Services Union.

Thomson, 49, showed little emotion as he sat in the front row of a packed court room as Mr Rozencwajg handed down his verdicts in Melbourne Magistrates Court.

Mr Rozencwajg found Mr Thomson guilty of charges related to using union funds for sexual services, of making cash withdrawals with his union-issued credit card, of buying cigarettes and firewood for his then wife and for some charges related to paying for travel for his then wife.
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Thomson was also found guilty of charges related to using union funds after he left the HSU and had become the federal MP for Dobell.

The former MP faces a five-year jail term as a maximum penalty.

But some of the charges related to the travel for his then wife were dismissed, as were charges related to buying for in-house movies at hotel rooms.

The verdict followed a trial held before Mr Rozencwajg across December and January, after Thomson first appeared in court more than one year ago.

The allegations against Mr Thomson were first raised almost five years ago.

Thomson was accused of using HSU credit cards and a Flight Centre account to accrue more than $28,000 in personal expenses, including sexual services, adult films in hotel rooms and flights and cigarettes for his then wife between 2002 and 2007, when he was the union's national secretary.

He was also accused of using union funds to pay for personal items after he left the union to become the Labor member for the NSW seat of Dobell in 2007.

He lost the seat in last year's election, standing as an independent.

Mr Rozencwajg went through the various verdicts and the reasons behind them for about 40 minutes.

The court was then adjourned so Thomson could speak with his legal team about the timing of a pre-sentence hearing.
(18.2.2014 Sydney Morning Herald)

我以前寫過好幾篇Craig Thomson案，這種案很難會發生在香港，不是説議員不會召妓，香港議員召妓也有先例，而是講好幾種其他情況。

原本Thomson是當年執政工黨的議員，工黨弱勢，為了Thomson在國會裏這一票，對他多番包庇，試圖拖延淡化事件，先來個旨在掩飾的內部調查，遲遲不作結論，到了紙也包不住火了，就讓他當無黨派的獨立議員，把錢向他袋裏送，表面上是工會賠給他的工資賠償及對誹謗的和解費，其實是箍票的賄賂。到工黨氣數已盡，Thomson也完蛋了。基於政治因素，一件刑事案就拖了幾年。去年2月，Thomson才正式被落案。説也誇張，不告則已，一告就154條罪。檢控當局真會開玩笑，15條和150條定了罪，總刑期有何差別？何需以量取勝。過多控罪也非好事，要逐一確定每一條罪的證據也極易搞錯，我真不明白，為何不用sample charges的形式，選一些重點及有代表性的罪項來檢控。還有，去年9月全國大選，Thomson照樣以獨立議員身分出來角逐連任，還獲得百份之4的選票。真的從政越久，面皮越厚，本人和選民對廉恥的尺度就越寬鬆。所謂知恥近乎勇，無恥就勇不可擋。講到厚顏，他也算表表者，去年5月，當他銀行戶口結餘只剩60大元，欠了一屁股債的時候，他成立了一個對控罪抗辯籌款基金叫人捐錢，這樣無疑是行乞。可惜不知他最終乞到多少，如果他擺地攤行乞，我一定會幫他一把，把家中的5仙扔一把給他，四散蓆面，讓他逐個去撿。

他這定罪應該怎樣量刑，這是澳洲，我不懂得預測，有breach of trust的成份，無理由會坐少過兩年。不過，南洲異地，自成一體，出人意表事，屢見不鮮。