Homeless man who bought stolen smartphone denies handling stolen goods

A homeless man has been remanded in custody after pleading not guilty to possession of a stolen mobile phone.

Omar Emara, 23, appeared before magistrate Joe Mifsud this morning, accused of handling stolen goods after a stolen €300 Huwawei smartphone was found in his possession.

Inspector Andy Rotin from the Hamrun police station told the court that the man had claimed to have purchased the item from a third party, whom he had identified to the police.

The phone was later returned to its rightful owner.

Emara, who told the court he works as a cleaner, was arrested after allegedly throwing stones at private property and the stolen phone was found in his possession.

He was charged with handling stolen goods and with having done so after being found guilty of handling stolen goods in the past.

Emara’s lawyer Simon Micallef Stafrace entered a plea of not guilty and requested bail. The prosecution objected to bail pointing out that the man was claiming to reside at a hostel but would be out on the streets again once he ran out of money.

Magistrate Mifsud, noting that the man had nowhere to live, offered to put the man in touch with various organisations that would be able to help him, through the prison services.

The request for bail was turned down.