Public servant loses appeal in embezzlement case

TDT | Manama

A Ministry of Health staff member convicted of embezzling BD14,797 has had her appeal rejected. She was earlier sentenced to three years behind bars and was ordered to return the same sum she had pocketed during her tenure as an appointment coordinator. The defendant is said to had been working in her position while collecting money from patients.

However, she would steal the money because she had financial problems, according to her statement before prosecutors. “I got married in 2005 and today I have a child aged 12 as well as a girl aged 6,” the woman told prosecutors. “Our financial situation got worse after I got divorced from my husband, as I have a personal loan along with an auto loan.

“I struggled to settle my financial commitments; therefore, I started pocketing from the cash register during working hours, taking advantage of my position.” The woman is said to have served in the ministry be - tween 2014 and 2017 before she was released from her duties after she was caught.

“I was in need of cash to spend on my children and I didn’t have any other option,” she added. However, the woman insisted that the money she stole was far less than BD14,797. “ The amount is from BD5,000 to BD8,000. There is no way it reached BD14,797,” she claimed.