VEREENIGING – Plea proceedings in the court case of the secretary/bookkeeper who allegedly embezzled R7.3m from a car dealership in the city will continue on May 14 in the regional court in Vereeniging.

Joané van de Gevel is accused by her former employer, Johannes Jurgens Hattingh (65), owner of Martin Morgan Motors, of embezzling millions from his company over the course of a year.

Van de Gevel appeared briefly in the regional court again last week, but the case could not continue because the accused’s lawyer only obtained the case file on Wednesday.

The case was postponed until May 14 so that the lawyer could take instructions from his client.

At the time she allegedly embezzled the money from Martin Morgan Motors, Van de Gevel was reportedly serving a suspended sentence for theft after previously stealing from an engineering company.

Van de Gevel, who worked for STAHL Crane Systems as a service manager for more than a decade, allegedly stole almost a million rand (between R940 000 and R961 767, according to court documents) from the company where she was considered one of the “most trusted staff members”.

She pleaded guilty and expressed remorse for her actions, according to court documents.