Two men were yesterday given a two-year jail term after they were found guilty of stealing €17,940 (Lm7,700) from a car owned by an elderly man from Sliema.

Richard Spiteri, 35, from Sliema, and Natale Bonello, 33 from Gzira, were found guilty of stealing the cash from a car owned by Carmelo Gialanze.

The court, presided over by Magistrate Lawrence Quintano, heard that Mr Gialanze had got out of his car to go shopping. When he got back into the car and drove to a stop sign, someone knocked on his window, telling him not to drive because there was a cat underneath the car.

Soon after, Mr Gialanze saw the same man, whom he thought was a lady, holding a cat. The man kept knocking on the window saying there was another cat.

Meanwhile Mr Gialanze saw another person, whom he also thought was also a lady, but was actually a man. The driver got out of the car to see whether there really was a cat underneath the car and left the driver’s door open.

It was then that the two men stole an envelope full of cash from Mr Gialanze’s car. He had reported to the police that he had been robbed by two ladies, but an eyewitness had recognised that the offenders were actually men.

Both were given a two-year jail term.

Police inspectors Angelo Caruana and France Micallef prosecuted.