An assistant manager at the Somerset Marketplace who stole more than $18,000 in currency, cheques and gift certificates from his employer has been sentenced to three months in prison.

Forty-eight-year-old David Scott, a US citizen living on Leacraft Hill, Southampton, has been in custody for more than two months after admitting to the offence, but sentencing was delayed for court-ordered social and psychological reports.

Speaking in Magistrates’ Court on Friday morning, Scott asked Senior Magistrate Archibald Warner to “reunite” him with his family so he could “start moving forward” with his life.

Mr Warner handed down two sentences of three months imprisonment to be held concurrently, meaning Scott will serve less than a month.

On May 3, Scott was observed “acting suspiciously” and asking staff about sales totals for that day in the store when he was supposed to be on vacation.

Scott was heard saying he was going to remain behind to “help the butcher clean up”.

Dahita Gittens, who was also an assistant manager, found this suspicious because Mr Scott had never assisted in such a way before.

Ms Gittens is then said have returned to the store around 2am the following morning, and immediately reviewed the CCTV footage from the day before.

Ms Gittens observed Mr Scott immediately entering the office after she had left the premises, where he took a number of bank bags from the safe and placed them into brown paper bags.

After examining the safe further, Ms Gittens noted that seven HSBC money bags had been taken, which contained the day’s sales. An audit was then conducted and it was found that a total of $18,551.58 had been removed in currency and cheques.