Victim of theft forgives accused, asks court to give him help

A pensioner who was robbed of six paintings, valued at some €700, asked for the court to show clemency towards the accused thief, saying that he needed "all the help possible to overcome his serious drug addiction."

Pensioner Frank Theuma took the witness stand to explain how he found six paintings out of 13 he had bought from Thailand, stolen from his property in Bormla.

41-year-old Jesmond Hayden was arrested in connection with the theft. He slouched on the bench in front of Magistrate Saviour Demicoli, as his accomplice, unemployed Kurt Grech, admitted to the charges saying that he was approached by Hayden to enter a house and steal tools.

Grech said that when the two entered the house, which was still under construction, they found the paintings and not the tools.

They settled to take some of the paintings and walked to their home, and later Grech approached his brother Noel Grech in a bid to sell them.

Grech's brother agreed to buy the paintings for €100 but gave him only €10 as he too was unemployed and promised to pay him when he had some money.

According to Grech, his brother had asked if the paintings were stolen. "He warned me that if they were stolen he would tell the police, but I assured him that they were not."

Noel Grech was also called to testify, who corroborated the evidence given earlier, adding however that he didn't know where his brother lived in Bormla, and that his brother had told him that the paintings were obtained in exchange for the scrapping of his old Mazda car.

The case was adjourned to a later date, with the accused being remanded in custody.