HALIFAX - Former Nova Scotia cabinet minister Russell MacKinnon has pleaded guilty to breach of trust for his role in the province's spending scandal.

MacKinnon entered the plea on the fourth day of his trial at the Nova Scotia Supreme Court in Halifax.

The former Liberal was expected to resume testimony today but the judge overseeing the case granted a temporary adjournment at the request of his defence lawyer.

When the case resumed, MacKinnon entered the plea.

One count of fraud over $5,000 and eight counts of uttering forged documents were dropped.

MacKinnon was sentenced to an eight-month conditional sentence to be served in the community followed by a year of probation.

Note to readers: This is a corrected story. A previous version said Russell MacKinnon pleaded guilty to fraud and was sentenced to four months of house arrest in addition to an eight-month conditional sentence.