An ex-Australian and British Special Forces serviceman left his elderly mother in Eastleigh, UK broke after he spent a night gambling and drinking on her credit card.

accepts he gambled the money as a result of boredom and drinking”

David Apps, 57, left Anne Bates penniless after he spent a night on the town racking up almost ￡12,000 ($15,154) on her card. Prosecutor Nicola Sully told Southampton Crown Court on Monday that Apps “accepts he gambled the money as a result of boredom and drinking.”

Apps, who was once a cop in Australia, was visiting his mother in July when he gambled ￡11,900 ($15,027) via sportsbook Spreadex.

According to the Daily Echo, Apps is currently Director of Special Projects at the United Arab Emirates government. Judge Nicholas Rowland questioned Apps’ need to steal from his mom, given “his level of income.”

In a victim impact statement, Ms. Bates said her son’s actions left her “financially vulnerable … unable to cover my bills and prompted me to put my apartment for sale and move to Australia.”

Ms. Bates’ statement continued that she couldn’t believe what Apps did to her, that she wanted him “to be held accountable, but he is my son and I love him.”

Judge Rowland ordered Apps to pay ￡1,500 ($1,895) per month to his mother, and prove repayment of the full amount of her money he blew before July 15. The judge also ordered Apps to “pay a significant additional sum to compensate Anne Bates for psychological trauma and provide proof of continued counselling.”