74-year-old shoplifter jailed

A 74-year-old Romanian woman has been jailed for a month after she pleaded guilty to shoplifting this morning.

Inspector Neville Mercieca told magistrate Consuelo Scerri Herrera how officers had arrested the woman, Tita Budescu on Monday 10th August at around 4 pm, after she was caught stealing two T-shirts worth €28 from Diesel's Sliema outlet.

The court was informed that the frail-looking old woman had been visiting a grandson in Malta and did not have enough money to feed herself, having spent what money she had, on cigarettes. The inspector added that Budescu had previous convictions for begging abroad.

"I do not want people begging on the streets,” said Magistrate Scerri Herrera . “If she does not have the means to sustain herself, she can wait in prison until her ticket is purchased, after which she can return home," the magistrate said, commenting that "if she was capable of stealing, she should be capable of going to jail." 

Legal aid later Abigail Bugeja told the court that the accused was pleading guilty and requested it take the woman’s age into account when deciding on punishment. Bugeja explained that the accused’s grandson had paid for the goods which had been stolen and had also offered to pay for the woman’s return airfare to Romania, she said.

The court imposed the minimum sentence on a month’s imprisonment.