Two men were yesterday put on probation for three years after pleading guilty to petty theft.

Sinclair Camilleri, 21, and Joseph John Cesare, 30, both from Cospicua, pleaded guilty to stealing various tools comprehensively worth about Lm140 from a building site in Fgura. Cesare also admitted to being in possession of a penknife.

The court, presided over by magistrate Antonio Mizzi, heard police inspector Jesmond Borg testify that most of the stolen items had been returned. He also said that the two accused had cooperated with police and that they had shown genuine remorse for the crime.

Fr Mark Montebello vouched for the two men and appealed for the court to assign them a community service term. However, magistrate Mizzi opted to put them on probation for three years. Dr Ludvic Caruana appeared for the accused.