A 21-year-old man from Qormi was yesterday jailed for two years, suspended for four years, and placed under a supervision order after he admitted to complicity in the theft of items from a car.

Before magistrate Consuelo Scerri Herrera, Malcolm Cutajar pleaded guilty to being an accomplice in the theft of items from a car and causing up to Lm100 worth of damage to two cars.

He also pleaded guilty to committing a crime during the operative period of a previous prison term of two years, suspended for four.

Senior probation officer Mariella Camilleri told the court that Cutajar had had a difficult childhood and that he was beaten when he was a child.

The court also heard how Cutajar had had problems in his youth caused by the abusive behaviour of people around him.

Handing down her judgment, magistrate Scerri Herrera took into account Cutajar’s criminal record and the probation officer’s report and jailed Cutajar for two years, suspended for four, and placed him under a supervision order.

Furthermore, magistrate Scerri Herrera ordered Cutajar to pay Lm20 in damages to George Falzon, the owner of one of the cars, and extended his previous suspended sentence for another four years.

Police superintendent Raymond D’Anastasi prosecuted.