Eddie Lim a sixty six year old real estate agent of Lowe Templestowe has made a few decisions that have resulted in jail time. Fueled by a Baccarat gambling habit, Lim has gambled more than $2.6 million away over the past four years and recently lost $588,594 while playing Baccarat.

Lim is a founding member of one of Indonesia’s biggest political parties and also a real estate agent. Lim has been working as a realtor for around six years. In 2003, Lim helped a couple buy a unit in Surrey Hills. Since then Lim has had the owners sign documents to remortgage their property, then rented it out and take the payments and then sell the unit.
The couple did not realize that the documents they were signing would have these repercussions.

Lim earned $588,594 after swindling the couple and used it to play nightly Baccarat at the Crown Casino. Lim was sentenced to three years in jail that included a non parole period of twenty one months. The Judge recognized that Lim had a good record until gambling came into the picture.

"This is something for which the easy facility of gambling in this state is often criticized and one can see why when this sort of case comes to court — and they come to court far too frequently," Judge Roland Williams said.

Lim’s daughter, Thereisa Sudjalin, stated that her father would not stop gambling despite their pleas until he voluntarily barred himself from the casino in 2006. Lim pleaded guilty to seven counts of dishonestly obtaining a financial advantage, six counts of obtaining property by deception and one count of theft.


- 2008-09-12