A 26-year-old man who has found a full-time job and seems to have changed his way of life was yesterday ordered to perform 240 hours of community work after being found guilty of possessing Lm10,000 worth of stolen books.

Keith Pace, 26, from Rabat, was originally accused of stealing Lm10,000 worth of books from a warehouse in Marsa that belongs to Allied Newspapers Limited, in 2003. However, he was found not guilty of this charge but only found guilty of possessing the stolen books.

Pace was also found guilty of stealing a number of speakers from a shop, J Mifsud and Sons Ltd, in Hamrun and of damaging the said shop. He was further found guilty of relapsing.

Handing down his judgement, magistrate Antonio Mizzi said that according to evidence heard by the court, Pace seems to have changed his way of life and has now found a job. The magistrate said the court believes that Pace should be given another opportunity to continue this new way of life.

Instead of jailing him, magistrate Mizzi ordered him to perform 240 hours of work in the community and also ordered that he be placed on probation for three years so that his improvements can be monitored.

Police Inspector Carmelo Magri prosecuted while Dr Franco Debono appeared for the accused.