A postman was caught dishonestly using a debit card he stole from the mail, when a bank's CCTV camera captured him wearing the same T-shirt he had worn in Facebook photographs, a court heard.
Surbjit Singh Khera (46) was found to have taken two bank cards and PIN numbers from mail he should have delivered to householders. He also helped himself to a £60 Next store voucher from inside a birthday card, Leicester Crown Court was told. He pleaded guilty to the thefts as well as dishonestly using both bank cards at cash machines to obtain a total of £800, in July and August last year. Khera who was said to be suffering from a heart condition, was given a 12 month jail sentence, suspended for two years. He was also ordered to refund the money he stole and pay £1,000 court costs. He said that £500 seized on the defendant's arrest would be forfeited and go towards the £860 compensation he will have to pay to the victims.The court heard that Khera lost his job with the Royal Mail.
Elizabeth Evans, prosecuting, said the offending came to light after a customer complained that her bank card and PIN had been fraudulently used after going missing in the post.
CCTV footage obtained by the Royal Mail, of the defendant using her stolen card at a Punjab National Bank branch bank in Leicester, revealed he was wearing a distinctive T-shirt that was evident on one of his Facebook pictures - and was recovered from his home.
In interview he denied all the allegations and falsely claimed having met one of the victims, who asked him to "look after" the bank card because he did not have his wallet with him – which was strongly refuted by the complainant who was spoken to and had never met him socially. Paul Prior, mitigating, said: "He was in financial difficulty and he also suffers from a heart condition. He has a very high heart rate that was diagnosed as a result of a check-up (since his arrest) and it's a question whether he'd have been allowed to have continued with that type of work anyway."
He said the defendant, who recently married, had found alternative employment.
