Bag-snatcher denied bail

A Libyan man has been denied bail after he appeared in court charged with attempting to steal a woman’s handbag from a pushchair in Balluta. 

Magistrate Joe Mifsud heard police inspector Trevor Micallef explain how the grandmother had been out shopping with her grandchild when 53-year-old Samir Almiri allegedly tried to snatch her handbag from a compartment in the pushchair. 

Almiri was arrested after the police were alerted by the woman’s screams, said the inspector. 

Almiri, who lives at the Hal Far open centre, is understood to have told arresting officers that he had no intention of staying in Malta, and had come here after being sent here by the Swedish authorities. 

Legal aid lawyer Mark Mifsud Cutajar entered a plea of not guilty. Almiri was remanded in custody.