A man with previous conviction told a court today that he is a “good boy” and “got mixed up” when he was charged with theft.

Rod Cini, 39, said he "did not have a problem with drugs, but with usury," during his arraignment on Wednesday.

Inspectors Paul Camilleri and Antonello Magri charged Cini from Paola before magistrate Gabriella Vella, accusing him of having stolen €160 worth of jewellery from a shop in Paola in January and another €62 worth of goods from a supermarket in Fgura on Monday morning. Cini was also charged with recidivism.

Inspector Camilleri told the court that the police had spoken to the defendant on several occasions in the past. He was immediately recognised from the supermarket’s CCTV footage and was arrested yesterday after the police obtained a warrant.

“We knew he had a drug problem and had tried to give him an opportunity to reform himself but when he started to reoffend, we had to take action,” said the inspector.

Asked by the court what he would be replying to the charges, Cini at first pleaded guilty.

Inspector Camilleri asked the court to impose a custodial sentence, together with a treatment order for his addiction to narcotics.

But the defendant, through his court-appointed lawyer Luke Valletta, told the court that he did not have a problem with drugs, but with usury.  The defence did not object to the treatment order.

“I am a good boy, I got mixed up…” the defendant said. “I have a number of medical conditions and I take care of my mother by myself.”

The court explained that the treatment order was intended to help him deal with the different types of problems that he was facing.

Taking Cini’s early plea into consideration, the court sentenced the thief to seven months in jail, also placing him under a 5-year treatment order. The treatment order was intended to help him address his drug and usury problems, repeated the court.

But while the magistrate was signing the order, the defendant complained to the prison guards and police officers present that there was “no help available” and mooted a possible appeal. “I need to take care of my mother, she’s all by herself,” he repeated.

After calling his lawyer over again, the defendant filed a request for the suspension of his sentence - normally a precursor to the filing of an appeal. As he did not request bail, he was remanded in custody.