KEY POINTS:
Lyndell Du Toit, who was convicted of stealing from a charitable fund for her daughter, is appealing her sentence and expects to serve only half her prison time.
On Friday, Du Toit was convicted of stealing more than $18,000 from a fund for her daughter, Charley, to receive an operation to mend her left foot, badly mauled in a dog attack.
Her partner, Eric Minty, yesterday told The Press that the family planned to return home to South Africa in late May.
They expected Du Toit would serve only half of her six-month prison sentence and would return to the doctor who first worked on Charley's injury in South Africa.
"As far as I know there are appeal papers in," Mr Minty said.
At her trial, the court was told that public donations had been sought and fundraising events held to help pay for surgical procedures to lengthen Charley's injured leg.
Over a four-month period last year, $18,748 was transferred from the appeal bank account in lots ranging from $200 to $3000. None of it was spent on the planned consultations or surgery.
"Subsequently, you claimed you had invested the money on Charley's behalf and have made a profit, however there is no proof of that at all," said Judge Jane Farish.
Mr Minty maintained Du Toit's stance that she had done nothing wrong. "I don't think what she did was the wrong thing to do, but I think she did it the wrong way."
Mr Minty is looking after nine-year-old Charley and her younger brothers, David and Klayton, while Du Toit is in prison.
Asked about a possible appeal against the sentence, Du Toit's lawyer, Richard McGuire, said: "There may be an appeal against the sentence, yes."
- NZPA
