Ray Scicluna, 54, of Valletta was handed an 18 month jail term when he appeared in court to be sentenced over charges of theft.

Scicluna was last Monday arraigned in court by Inspector Godwin Scerri. He pleaded guilty to the charges with Magistrate Natasha Galea Scibberas remanding to custody and postponing the case for sentencing.

The investigation followed the report of an 11-year-old girl whose handbag was stolen from the MacDonald's outlet in Valletta. The value of the contents inside the handbag was €460. The police identified the culprit from CCTV footage and arrested Scicluna.  He is known to the police over various thefts from Mc Donald’s, Burger King and other restaurants.