A 31-year-old man was granted bail yesterday against a personal guarantee of e1,000 after he pleaded not guilty to stealing five bottles of alcoholic drinks from Lasco Supermarket in Zejtun on Tuesday.

Before Magistrate Michael Mallia, Alan Gatt, from Pietà, also pleaded not guilty to dealing in stolen goods, relapsing and breaching a six months jail sentence suspended for two years and a court order to start a drug rehabilitation programme, both of which were handed down on 23 November.

Police Inspector Joseph Agius prosecuted while Dr Stephen Tonna Lowell appeared for the accused.