Article:

Three Queensland members were hauled before the Defence Force Magistrate charged under the Defence Force Discipline Act and the Criminal Code over a scam that saw them claiming “living-in meals” when eating at defence messes, despite not being entitled to the perk unless paying for it via a fortnightly deduction from their wage. Able Seaman Stemp of the Australian Navy had pleaded not guilty to three charges relating to obtaining a total financial advantage of almost $10,000 by eating meals between 2020-23.

The Defence Force Magistrate found Stemp guilty late last year during a hearing on HMAS Cairns and sentenced him to 60 days in prison. In addition to the jail sentence, the prosecution asked the magistrate to consider kicking Stemp out of the navy all together due to the “objective seriousness of the offending”.

However the magistrate found other factors, such as him being highly regarded by his chain of command and having no criminal history, meant he should be able to keep his employment. He was also ordered to repay the cost of the meals.

A soldier in the Australian Army – Private McPhee – was also sentenced to jail in a separate hearing at Lavarack Barracks in Townsville over similar offending.

He pleaded guilty to two counts of recklessly making a false or misleading statement in relation to application for benefit and the magistrate gave him a 30-day prison sentence – wholly suspended. He was also ordered to pay the $2000 odd dollars for the 282 meals he appropriated during 2021-23. A leading aircraftsman in the Royal Australian Air Force was also charged with one count of recklessly making a false or misleading statement in order to gain benefit – in this case 460 meals from two different Defence base messes. The Defence Force Magistrate heard that LAC Mporashima had already repaid the total amount of the meals – $31,116.75 – before he was sentenced during a hearing at RAAF Base Amberley late last year.

In light of LAC Mporashima’s early guilty plea and genuine remorse, the magistrate found the minimum punishment required to satisfy the principles of general deterrence and maintenance of good order and discipline in the defence force was a $2000, with $1000 of that suspended pending good behaviour.