A jewellery store worker who stole around €29,000 in expensive accessories from her employer was handed a suspended sentence on Saturday after admitting to the crime. 

Monika Losiewksa, a 29-year old Polish national, had been working at various outlets of the local jewellery store for the past year when police began suspecting that she was behind the disappearance of several expensive items from the shops.

The missing items were discovered during a stock take, with further internal checks all pointing to Ms Losiewksa as the culprit. 

That was when the police were called in, explained prosecuting inspectors Saviour Baldacchino and Colin Sheldon during Saturday’s arraignment.

Armed with a search warrant issued by a magistrate, investigators had searched the woman’s home, where each and every one of the missing items was found.

Ms Losiewksa allegedly told police that she had taken the jewellery to wear it herself and not to sell.

The woman, who allegedly was previously convicted of theft in her home country, pleaded guilty to having misappropriated and used to her own benefit the jewellery taken from three different outlets at Buġibba, Mellieħa and Sliema.

The woman was charged with stealing €29,000 in jewellery, though the retail value of the items reportedly stood at double that amount. 

Upon the accused’s own admission and after taking note of the early guilty plea and the fact that the missing items had been recovered, the court, presided over by magistrate Josette Demicoli, declared the woman guilty and condemned her to a two-year jail term suspended for four years.

Lawyer Roberto Montalto was defence counsel.