Safekeeping

Not a theft, mind you. Just making sure the money is safe:

AN Australian woman working as the chief purser on a luxury cruise ship has been charged in the United States with stealing $521,274 from the ship's safe and hiding it in her cabin.

Elisha Cuffe, 32, was arrested and escorted off the luxury liner Sapphire Princess in front of passengers after the ship docked at the Alaskan port city of Ketchikan last week.

...Alaskan state troopers allege Ms Cuffe, a 10-year veteran of the cruise line, hid the cash in a cardboard box at the end of her bed.

The ship's security personnel became suspicious during their voyage from Vancouver, Canada, to Whittier, Alaska, when money from the safe, which Ms Cuffe had access to, began disappearing, police said.

..."As part of the onboard investigation they asked to search her room and at that point they discovered the money in a cardboard box at the foot of her bed."

...Ms Cuffe, however, said she was not planning to flee with the cash, he said.

"She said she had taken the money because the ship's computer was showing less money than was actually on hand in the safe," he said.

"She said she didn't have any plans on removing the money from the ship."