Gozo Ferry worker charged with stealing handbag

A Gozo Channel employee has been released on bail after being accused of stealing a passenger’s bag containing €1,500.

26-year-old Joseph Galea of Xewkija was arraigned before magistrate Bridget Sultana in Gozo earlier today, charged with theft and handling stolen goods.

Inspector Bernard Charles Spiteri told the court that Galea, who was a cafeteria employee, had found a woman’s handbag containing €1,500 and a mobile phone that had been left behind by a passenger on 9 August.

Galea claimed that he had placed the bag in a storeroom used for lost belongings, but the police had also spoken to the victim’s son who claimed that the accused had denied finding any handbags.

Defence lawyers Franco Debono and Amadeus Cachia entered a plea of not guilty on the man’s behalf and requested bail.

Although the prosecution objected to the request, the court granted Galea bail against a €3,000 deposit and a €4,000 personal guarantee, ordering the man to sign a bail book 3 times per week and obey a curfew.