A man who told the court he stole a mobile phone because he was hungry was today sentence to four months in prison.

Abdi Ali Mahamed, 22, from Somalia and living in Paola, was arraigned before magistrate Natasha Galea Sciberras on accusations of having, on March 15, stolen a Huawei mobile phone worth €100.

Mahamed pled guilty to the accusations brought against him.

Inspector Robert Vella, prosecuting, told the court that after stealing the phone, Mahamed had run-off, but was intercepted by a police officer who arrested him.

The defence asked the court to take into consideration the fact that the accused had admitted he had made a mistake, and the phone had been returned to its owner, who had forgiven him.

"I was hungry and I had to pay rent," the accused, who is a relapser, told the court.

The magistrate explained to the accused that she was bound by the law to give him a prison sentence.

"Last time you let me go free," the accused protested.

The court considered the accused's guilty plea, his cooperation with the police, and that he had given the phone back.

However, it also considered his recidivism, and condemned him to four months imprisonment.

Lawyer Denise Sultana was legal aid for the accused