Mother reports son for breaching bail conditions

An 18-year-old youth who was out on bail after being accused of a series of thefts was today back in court after his own mother reported him to the police for having blatantly breached the conditions of his bail, a court heard this morning.

The mother told the court that her 18-year-old son – whose name cannot be mentioned by court order – would leave the house late at night and turn up the following day, all this in complete disregard of the bail conditions imposed on him a few weeks ago by a Magistrate.

Taking the witness stand, the mother told Magistrate Claire Stafrace Zammit that she had to report her son because she wanted him to reform before it was too late. The woman said her son’s behaviour was fuelling suspicions that he was committing crimes to finance some sort of addiction.

The youth was remanded in custody pending sentencing tomorrow after the court turned down a request for bail.

Both the prosecution and the defence argued against the court fining the youth, as such punishment would have to be borne by the accused’s parents. Consequently, the prosecution requested an effective jail term, with the defence asking the court to impose a more lenient punishment.