SIC embezzler placed under supervision

A COUNCIL administrator in Shetland who embezzled more than £5,000 from her former employer escaped a jail sentence on Thursday at Lerwick Sheriff Court.

Diane Pottinger, of 21a Hillhead, Lerwick, pled guilty last month to siphoning off £5,089.10 from Shetland Islands Council’s infrastructure department between 1 April 2011 and 1 September the following year.

Pottinger pocketed the money from members of the public who paid for wheelie bins, black bags and other waste disposal materials, instead of recording the amounts she was taking.

Last month the court heard that she had repaid all the money and that the council would never have discovered where the cash had disappeared without Pottinger’s cooperation.

The council had accepted partial responsibility for what happened, as she had been put in charge of handling the cash without training or supervision.

On Thursday Sheriff Philip Mann told the 29 year old that he was satisfied that justice could be done without sending her to jail.

Pottinger was put under supervision for a year and was told to carry out 120 hours of unpaid work over a period of nine months.

The sheriff also warned her not to slip up on complying with the order as otherwise there “was a distinct possibility of a jail sentence because of the seriousness of the offence”.