A 47-year-old man was denied bail on Thursday after being charged with three separate thefts, including the alleged theft of a door-knocker from a Sliema residence in an incident whose CCTV footage was widely shared online.

Michael Oluwafemi Tewogbola, a Nigerian man with no roof on his head, was arraigned before Magistrate Lara Lanfranco and charged with three thefts, two of which allegedly took place on the same evening in April.

The latest theft took place last Saturday in Sliema.

CCTV footage posted on Facebook by Sliema Mayor John Pillow showed a man approaching a residence, examining its two door-knockers and wrenching one off.

The mayor appealed for information and the video went viral. Police then managed to identify and arrest Tewogbola.

Police then tied him to two earlier alleged thefts on April 13.

The first allegedly took place at a pizza shop in D'Argens Street, Gżira. Later that same evening, he allegedly stole money from a man in St Paul's Bay.

In all three cases, the value of the allegedly stolen property was put at less than €2,330.

Tewogbola was also charged as a recidivist and with leading an idle and vagrant life.

Tewogbola pleaded not guilty, answering the charges in fluent Maltese, and repeatedly shook his head while standing in the dock.

Asked about his circumstances, he told the court that he worked as a plasterer.

The prosecution objected to bail, arguing that the vagrancy charge was not simply being brought for the sake of it.

They said Tewogbola had no fixed address and that when police attempted to access the address registered to him, they found it was not a habitable property, with no roof or suitable place to sleep.

They also pointed out that several witnesses had yet to take the stand.

Bail was consequently refused.

His appearance before the court was not his first brush with theft charges. He was charged with theft in 2002 and was also later found guilty of stealing from a shop.

Legal aid lawyer Martin Farrugia represented Tewogbola. Attorney General lawyer Marcea Fenech prosecuted, assisted by Inspectors Warren Galea and Joseph Buhagiar.