opinion

When a man steals…

Andrew Sultana is shocked by a recent court decision which landed Mohammend Sebaa six months in jail. He asks why he is enjoying state hospitality instead of just being deported

Last week Mr Mohamed Sebaa stole a mobile phone and was promptly caught and charged, the case was heard last week by Magistrate Carol Peralta.

Mr Sebaa pleaded guilty, saying that he had been hungry and homeless. He was jailed for six months, after which he will be deported. Magistrate Peralta explained to the defendant that he could not receive benefits because he had not yet been declared a refugee. He also warned that hunger does not justify theft.

With all due respect to Magistrate Peralta – of course hunger justifies theft. It justifies anger too and should promote at least a little soul-searching. Why was the man hungry in the first place and why did his pleas, as The Times put it, ‘fall on deaf ears’ and on the Island of St Paul’s, where one-third of the population recently turned out to greet the Pope?

Mr Sebaa could not work for a living, since he had no work permit. Regardless of whether refugee status would eventually have been awarded or not – he believed he was a refugee. Anyway – how was he supposed to keep body and soul together without some kind of benefit?

If any kind of punishment was in order (which doesn’t seem blindingly obvious), isn’t six months for the theft of a mobile phone a bit excessive, considering the circumstances?

I’m no expert on penal law but I thought the modern, enlightened view behind it requires at least one of three aims be achieved by taking away somebody’s freedom – the criminal’s reformation, the protection of society or dissuading other would-be criminals by example.

Since Mr Sebaa will be deported immediately after serving his sentence, the first purpose does not really concern us, although he might turn out to be, miraculously, a model Algerian citizen after doing time. For the same reason, the second aim can hardly be fulfilled, either. Nobody believes for one little bit that Mr Sebaa’s incarceration is going to protect Maltese society.

Which leaves dissuasion by example. Well, if our extremely severe drug laws don’t stop people risking twenty years in prison, what makes us think six months will scare off other mobile phone thieves? After all, let’s face it, no one plans to get caught.

Why, exactly, is Mr Sebaa enjoying the state’s hospitality for six months instead of just being deported? It’s a shame, of course, that this is the only kind of the highly-exalted Maltese hospitality we could offer him. We are prepared to spend public money on feeding and sheltering him for six months – but not to make sure he gets enough to eat outside the prison.

Maybe next time a wealthy European tourist writes to the letters page gushing about our friendliness and hospitality we’ll have the grace to blush a little bit. And it would be nice to think that the next time the parish priest churns out Acts 28;2 – you know, the ‘unusual kindness’ bit – some of us will reflect about whether Paul meant ‘kindness to people who can pay for it’ or ‘kindness to people who really need it’. Maybe Mohamed is better off in Kordin after all. At least he is getting something to eat.