Greta Arulanandam: ‘Disgruntled’ clinic worker stole from boss

A clinic worker in Melbourne’s west, who stole tens of thousands of dollars from her employer, will not spend a minute in jail. Find out why.

A disgruntled employee in Melbourne’s west has avoided jail after stealing tens of thousands of dollars from her employer.

Greta Arulanandam, of Werribee, appeared before the Werribee Magistrates’ Court on Monday, pleading guilty to a single charge of theft.

The court heard that between January 2015 and October 2019 Arulanandam “systematically” stole items from the clinic she worked at, with the intention of setting up a competing business.

She had become “disgruntled” with the management of the company and how she was being treated, stealing more than $45,000 over the four year period.

The name of the business and her position at the company were not aired in court.

Arulanandam was described as a “high-achieving professional woman” by Magistrate Mike Wardell, who said the community expected the courts to deal with offences of this nature “harshly”.

“This is not a once-off incident … seemingly over the course of four years you systematically stole items of value from your employer with a view of setting up a rival clinic,” he said.

“A breach of trust of this nature, the starting point could easily be a term of imprisonment.

“But I’m not going down the path this time.”

He sentenced Arulanandam to a two-year community corrections order, and ordered her to complete 250 hours of community service.