A 17-year-old boy from Zebbug was yesterday charged with handling and circulating counterfeit cash, defrauding a number of petrol stations and stealing fuel.

The boy, whose name cannot be published by a court order since he is still a minor, was accused of being in possession of and using false cash.

The youth was also accused, before magistrate Audrey Demicoli, of defrauding owners of various petrol stations through using false cash and stealing up to Lm100 worth of petrol.

Police inspector Ian Abdilla prosecuted while Dr Franco Debono appeared for the accused.