A 21-year-old man has been sentenced to five months imprisonment in the hopes that it would encourage him to submit to drug rehabilitation.

Adrian Vella confessed in court to having committed simple theft in St. Nicholas Square, Siggiewi. The incident took place on 13 February.

Mr Vella was also accused of being in breach of a probation order by carrying out the simple theft. The accused pleaded guilty to all charges brought against him.

A probation officer and Caritas representatives explained that Mr Vella was suffering a drug addiction, more specifically an addiction to synthetic drugs. Magistrate Aaron Bugeja, presiding over the case, therefore ruled that it was necessary for the accused to submit to a drug rehabilitation programme.

Magistrate Bugeja held that when considering the crime and Mr Vella's admission of guilt, the courts have no alternative but to dish out a prison sentence. He stressed that the accused had been given several opportunities to reform himself, but failed to do so.

Magistrate Bugeja then concluded that the only conclusion left would be to order the accused to undergo a residential drug rehabilitation programme which must take place in a controlled environment.

He expressed his hope that the accused's time at the Carrodino Correctional Facility will strengthen his resolve to complete the programme, for his sake as well as his family's.

The accused was imprisoned for a total of five months, three months for the theft, with a further two months being added to his sentence for breaching his probation order.