By RASBERT TURNER, STAR WriterSpanish Town:
THE MOTHER OF an 18-year-old who was convicted of fraudulent conversion fainted in the Spanish Town RM Court on Tuesday after she was told that her daughter said the money she defrauded was used for paying her (the mother's) bills.
The facts before the court are that between last January and March, Devine Blake, 28, and Stacy-Ann Duncan, 18, both of Gutters, St. Catherine, and clerks employed to a Digicel outlet at Darlington Drive, Old Harbour in the parish, collected $176,000 and failed to hand over this money to the company.
The irregularities were revealed during an audit of the company last April at which time the accused told their employer that they borrowed the money. The police was summoned and the two were subsequently arrested and charged by Detective Constable Lincoln Mahado of the Old Harbour CIB.
They pleaded guilty in court on Friday and were remanded Tuesday for restitution to be made.
When they reappeared before Senior RM Lorna Errar Gayle, total restitution was made. The question of bail was put to the RM by defence attorney-at-law Earl Hamilton.
Duncan's mother was summoned to the court and was told of the allegation that her daughter had made against her. The burly woman fainted. It took the efforts of several court officers and lawyers to revive her. She was taken from the court to hospital.
Both Blake and Duncan were granted $40,000 bail each, with a surety, to reappear on June 1 after the completion of social enquiry report.
