KEY POINTS:
A South African emigrant continues to claim money will be available to repay the $20,000 she admits stealing from an account for donations for an operation on her injured daughter's leg.
But the Crown said bluntly in the Christchurch District Court yesterday it did not believe Lyndell du Toit, that there was no investment, no apartment being sold and no big payment about to arrive in her bank.
Substantial sums of money were always apparently about to arrive, said Crown prosecutor Tim Mackenzie as he opposed a further remand that would give du Toit almost three months to try to raise the money to pay reparations.
Her daughter Charley's leg was bitten off in a dog attack in South Africa. The foot was reattached but the family came to Christchurch so a New Zealand surgeon could do a further medical procedure that would enable the 8-year-old to walk normally.
Public donations flooded in for the family's appeal but over four months about $20,000 was transferred to du Toit's account and none was used for her daughter's consultations for surgery, the police said when she pleaded guilty last month.
Du Toit continues to say that money will be available because it has been invested, but she could not provide any proof of the investment to the probation officer. She said an apartment was being sold, but the proceeds would not be available until all the apartments in the block had been sold. She also spoke of money coming from her family.
But the crown said that when the police first interviewed her, she talked of a $300,000 payment that would appear in her bank account within a few days.
"The reality is, there is no reparation," Mr Mackenzie said.
Judge Gary MacAskill said the court was entitled to be sceptical of promises of reparation.
If she did not come up with reparations before sentencing on February 8, the court would regard her assurances as fictitious and she was seriously at risk of being jailed.
- NZPA
