Joseph Musa Mbye pleads guilty to stealing man’s money from Noosa Reef Hotel
A man who pressed ‘collect’ on another man’s winnings at a popular Noosa hotel has been banned from the pub and ordered to pay compensation.
Police & Courts
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A man has been fined after taking another patron’s winnings from a gaming machine at a popular Noosa hotel.
Joseph Musa Mbye, 33, pleaded guilty to one count of stealing at Noosa Magistrates Court on Tuesday following the October 11 incident at the Noosa Reef Hotel, Noosa Heads.
The court heard Mbye was playing the gaming machines about 4pm when he observed another patron leave his machine to place a bet at the TAB betting machine.
Police prosecutor Phillip Stephens told the court Mbye watched the victim in the TAB area in the corner of the room.
“(Mbye) took the opportunity to press ‘collect’ on the victim’s machine while the victim was not looking,” Sergeant Stephens said.
Mbye took the $135 cash ticket from the machine and left the gaming area.
When staff confronted him, Mbye denied stealing the ticket and was asked to leave the hotel.
On October 25, Mbye attended a police interview, where he reportedly claimed he believed the patron had abandoned the money in the machine, as no one was nearby.
Sgt Stephens described it as a “self-serving statement”.
“It’s almost farcical,” he said.
The court heard Mbye had a criminal history from 2009, primarily involving drug-related offences, and was fined $300 for a similar theft offence in 2022.
As a result of the incident, the Noosa Reef Hotel banned him for a year.
Magistrate Chris Callaghan fined Mbye $600 and ordered him to pay $135 in compensation to the victim, with convictions recorded.
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