A woman was charged yesterday with stealing a motorbike from Gzira, which she used to run a few errands and which she planned to return as soon as she had finished with it.

Magistrate Lawrence Quintano heard how Alberta Amato, from Gzira was accused of stealing a Piaggio motorbike from her neighbour to run a few errands at around 11am on Monday. She was also accused of using false number plates after she allegedly covered the original number plates with a box and made up a new registration number.

Amato was also charged with driving the motorbike without permission from its owner and driving it recklessly, as well as driving without a valid driving licence and insurance cover for third parties.

She was also accused of relapsing.

Magistrate Quintano heard Amato plead not guilty to the charges brought against her. She was granted bail against a deposit of Lm200 and a personal guarantee of Lm1,000.

Dr Roberto Montalto, Dr Franco Debono and Dr Charmaine Cherrett appeared for the defendant while police inspector Mario Tonna prosecuted.