An accounts clerk has been handed a two-year suspended jail term after admitting to using company funds for personal purchases.

46-year-old Denise Mallia, from Birżebbuġa, admitted to misappropriating almost €10,500 from her employer. The entire amount has been paid back.

Mallia, who worked as an accounts clerk with Valletta Gateway Terminals Limited, used the funds for personal purchases in October 2019 and the preceding months, the court heard.

She admitted to the charges brought against her. Magistrate Rachel Montebello considered a report by a social worker that the woman was now doing her best to get her life back on the right track. She was married and had a child.

Apart from the two-year jail term suspended for four years, Magistrate Montebello also ordered Mallia to pay €1,363 in court expenses within six months.

Police Inspector Sean Friggieri prosecuted while lawyers Franco Debono and Francesca Zarb appeared for the woman.