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Five Romanians to be arraigned over pickpocketing
Five Romanian nations to face charges of pickpocketing on Arriva buses and bus stations.
30 August 2013, 12:00am
Chris Mangion
Chris Mangion
Four men and a woman, all Romanian nationals, are expected to be arraigned in court later on today, charged with pickpocketing on public transport buses and bus stations.
Incidents of pickpocketing increased drastically in recent months, with thieves are targeting crowded afternoon buses, particularly in Sliema, St Julian's and Paceville.
This led to the British Foreign and Commonwealth office warning tourists visiting Malta to be on the lookout because of an increase in the number of pickpocketing incidents on buses.
Chris Mangion is MaltaToday’s photojournalist, joining the newspaper in 2013.
In 1995...
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These people are giving Malta a bad name. If found guilty, a heavy fine together with imprisonment would serve a deterrent to others.
Adrian Busuttil •
"This led to the British Foreign and Commonwealth office warning tourists visiting Malta to be on the lookout because of an increase in the number of pickpocketing incidents on buses."
Let's hope that, if they are found guilty, the courts will take this into account during sentencing. A deterrent is clearly needed here as we have been a soft touch in previous cases, and these people hurt tourism and ultimately the Maltese economy.
