Officials at a high school in the mid-island area announced Thursday that a female temporary office worker had embezzled ¥232,574 from the school PTA and School Safety Promotion Association dues.

The 36-year-old woman has reportedly already returned the money in full, which she said she spent for her living expenses. According to school officials, the woman said that “(she had had) trouble to repay her ex-husband’s debts.”

The school ordered the woman to take a leave without pay before the Prefectural Education Committee dismissed her from Jan. 5th. The PTA is waiting for a judgment from the committee, and is also considering reporting the incident to police.

According to the school, a report from PTA stated, “There is a discrepancy in the dues received for the School Safety Promotion Association” that led to the discovery of the embezzlement. During the investigation, the woman admitted to the charges. She also admitted that she had taken PTA dues from students’ parents from the school safe and had issued false receipts to cover the theft.

The woman started working at the school last April. The school and PTA explained the details and apologized to the families. The school is now considering measures to prevent a recurrence, like separating the money safety boxes for PTA and school dues, reminders when dealing in cash, and asking for the use of bank transfers instead of payments in cash.

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