A court case against Health Minister Nelson Bascome will continue at least into next month after another morning of legal arguments concluded in another adjournment.

Senior Magistrate Archibald Warner yesterday ruled a brief hearing would take place next Tuesday, and two weeks after that he would announce whether Bascome's theft trial would carry on.

In a three and a half-hour session yesterday, prosecutor Paula Tyndale outlined why she believes there is enough evidence to pursue the case, in which the Minister is accused of stealing a bank loan which was supposed to be spent setting up a business with partner Robert Smith.

At a previous hearing, defence lawyer Charles Richardson had complained Mr. Smith could not be a victim because he was not aware Bascome had got the loan.

Yesterday, in the latest of a string of hearings spanning several months, Ms Tyndale countered that did not matter in the eyes of the law.

"The fact that he did not know does not make it not the business's money," Ms Tyndale told the court. "The money belonged to the business and should have been treated as such."

The prosecutor also rejected the suggestion that it was a personal loan, which Mr. Richardson had argued meant Bascome was effectively being accused of stealing from himself.

She said Bascome's mindset throughout had been that it was a business loan — underscored by the fact he used a business loan to pay it off.

Bascome, 52, who denies stealing more than $60,000 of the loan, initially stepped down as Health Minister in February last year to allow him to concentrate on fighting the court case. However, he was reappointed earlier this year even though the case continues.

On Tuesday, Mr. Richardson will spend about half an hour replying to Ms Tyndale's comments. Mr. Warner said: "I don't intend to have a ruling for two weeks after that."