17-year-old alcoholic jailed for holiday apartment thefts

A 17-year-old self-confessed alcoholic will be treated for his addiction in prison after he pleaded guilty to stealing from holiday apartments this summer.

The Libyan-born accused, who resides at Hal Far and who cannot be named on account of his age, was arrested in St. Julian’s after police spotted him acting suspiciously. The youth was found to be carrying two talllinja cards and ID documents in different names and taken to the police station for questioning.

But once there, he was recognized as a person wanted for a number of thefts from holiday apartments.

The accused was charged with stealing cash, mobile phones and other objects from tourists. The theft charges were deemed aggravated by value, time and means.

In court today, Inspector Joseph Xerri told magistrate Joe Mifsud that the youth had an alcohol problem.

Legal aid lawyer Simon Micallef Stafrace entered a guilty plea to the aggravated theft charges and asked the court to consider probation, due to the fact that the accused was a first time offender and had a clean criminal record.

But the magistrate disagreed. The boy had stolen from holiday apartments, he observed. “It is serious. We can’t project an image of Malta not being a safe country.”

The youth was sentenced to six months imprisonment and a three-year treatment order for alcoholism. The magistrate ordered the Prison authorities to give him immediate assistance to overcome his addiction and recommended that the youth be held at the young offenders unit (YOURS) at Mtahleb.