A 19-year-old Bulgarian born woman was jailed for one month after plainclothes officers caught her trying to steal from a woman’s handbag.

Magistrate Charmaine Galea heard how Asya Georgieva Stancheva was arrested as she alighted from a bus near the Preluna Hotel in Sliema.

Ms Stancheva pleaded guilty to the attempted theft and was sentenced to a month in jail. 

Police Inspector Jason Sultana prosecuted. Dr Benjamin Valenzia appeared for Ms Stancheva as legal aid lawyer.