Man facing murder charge is imprisoned for theft

The man accused of the 2005 murder of Sion Grech, who was found dead in a field in Marsa, was once more found guilty of theft, relapsing and imprisoned for a further two years.

Ishmael Habesh, 42, was found unconscious on 31 March 2011 by police inspector Kevin Farrugia at 3pm inside a vehicle. Police said they found car stereos, GPS devices, cameras and mobile phones which had been reported stolen from various vehicles the night before.

After claiming the items were his, he later changed his version, saying he had stolen the items from Abdul Salem Ben Hamed, claiming the latter owed him €200. The police's investigations returned negative.

The court said the prosecution had not provided evidence such as fingerprints that could directly link the Libyan national with the stolen items. However, taking into consideration that the items were reported stolen only hours before being found in his possession, the court applied the theory of recent possession and found the accused guilty of theft.

Magistrate Edwina Grima took note of the voluminous police record the accused had, and the fact that he has previously been charged and imprisoned over theft and handling stolen goods.

On the day of his release from prison in February this year, the accused, together with Tunisian Faical Mahouachi, was arraigned over the murder of Sion Grech in 2005. The victim had been found in an advanced stage of decomposition by members of the vice squad after being reported missing for a week. Habesh had just finished serving a prison term after being found guilty of theft.