A mother-of-three who helped herself to some €20,000 from the bank savings of an 84-year old woman she visited as a home help was granted bail pending a pre-sentencing report to address her drug problem.

The 45-year-old Zabbar woman, whose name was banned from publication so as to safeguard her three minor children, landed under suspicion after relatives of the elderly woman noted a trail of hefty withdrawals from their mother’s bank account.

Sources close to the investigation explained how the accused first visited the elderly woman’s home to lend a hand with the housework and run errands.

But matters took a negative twist when she came across the victim’s credit card, along with PIN number, locked away inside a drawer with the key in the lock.

The accused would take the bank card and use it to withdraw sums from her victim’s bank account, then return the card to its place of safekeeping.

A police report was filed and investigations zeroed in on the accused as the prime suspect.

The woman was arrested and arraigned on Tuesday, pleading guilty to various instances of aggravated theft that took place over a number of months.

Relatives of the elderly victim, who were present in court, supplied an estimate of the total amount stolen.

The court, presided over by magistrate Claire Stafrace Zammit, upheld a request for bail, strongly warning the accused not to approach the victim who happened to live in the same locality, although in a different area.

“Don’t let me find out that you even approach her street or follow her to the places she frequently visits, such as the grocer or the church,” warned the magistrate.

“Make sure you report if she goes anywhere near the victim,” went on the magistrate, addressing the victim’s relatives.

Having made that condition clear, the court went on to order the accused to sign the bail book daily, to abide by a curfew between midnight and 6am and to bind herself under a personal deposit of €20,000.

“Rather than impose a deposit, the court would rather that you use those funds to reimburse the victim,” said the magistrate.

Finally, the court issued a Protection Order that was to remain effective until final judgment and which, if breached, would spell a €7000 fine or a two-year jail term or both.

The court also urged the accused to make good use of the time pending the completion of the pre-sentencing report to think of a way of reimbursing her victim.

Inspector Darren Buhagiar prosecuted.

Lawyer Yanika Bugeja was defence counsel. Lawyer Marouska Debono appeared parte civile.