A school parent council treasurer stole nearly £1,000 destined for primary pupils, then tried to cover her tracks for the next three years.
It was only minutes before her trial at Perth Sheriff Court was due to start that Emma Malcolm finally confessed to stealing the money.
Malcolm, 36, had been trusted with the funds, which had been raised for the benefit of youngsters at Balhousie Primary School in Perth.
A total of £988.60 was gathered through fundraising and was handed over to Malcolm, who was treasurer of the parent council, for banking.
However, when checks were carried out a month later it was found Malcolm had not banked a penny of the cash.
When other members of the parent council quizzed Malcolm, she denied any wrongdoing and claimed she had deposited the full amount in the bank.
The bank was then alerted and a major investigation was carried out to try to find the “deposit” Malcolm insisted she had made in May 2017.
Hundreds of transactions were double-checked to trace the missing money, but the bank concluded none of it had ever been handed in by Malcolm.
She was confronted again by the parent council and when she still refused to admit her involvement she was asked to accompany them to the local branch.
As they were about to turn up, Malcolm took a phone call and pretended she had to rush home as her house was being broken into.
Malcolm was charged with taking the cash but she continued to evade justice by failing to turn up at court on several occasions.
Eventually, almost three years after helping herself to the donated money, she turned up at court to face trial – still maintaining her innocence.
However, after being told witnesses had turned up to give evidence against her and that the Crown case was compelling, Malcolm confessed.
Malcolm, of The Rookery, Perth, admitted stealing £988.60 between May 25 and June 20 2017.
Charges of failing to appear for trial were dropped by the Crown.
Solicitor Billy Somerville, defending, told the court: “Regrettably, this plea is being tendered on the morning of the trial. There was a three-page joint minute which would have almost agreed the whole Crown case.”
Sheriff Michael Fletcher deferred sentence on Malcolm, for the preparation of social work reports, until next month.
