A man has admitted to stealing from the same supermarket 3 times in the space of a month.

Marius Stefan, 40, from Romania had been charged with stealing from a Mellieha supermarket three times in July, together with another person who was tried separately.

Stefan, who had previously been jailed for pickpocketing, had been arraigned on August 13 and had pleaded guilty to theft charges. The court observed that, although he had been charged with recidivism, no evidence of his previous sentences had been exhibited and so did not find him guilty of a charge to that effect. Likewise, an accusation of having returned to Malta despite having been deported was also unsupported by evidence and the court said it could not take this allegation as proven.

Although the accused had pleaded guilty at a relatively early stage of proceedings, the court said that he had not cooperated with the police and that not all the stolen items had been returned. €85 worth of goods remained unreturned.

Stefan was jailed for 18 months, suspended for 2 years. He was also ordered to reimburse the stolen €85 within 6 months.

Inspector Clayton Camilleri prosecuted.