Man imprisoned after admitting to stealing a salesgirl’s mobile phone

A 39-year-old man has been sentenced to imprisonment for one year after he admitted to stealing a salesgirl’s mobile phone.

Khalleefah Aljamie, 39, from Libya, residing in Tarxien, was arraigned before magistrate Victor Axiak on Friday, accused of the theft, which occurred between 8 and 10pm on 7 May at the Malta International Airport.

The owner of the stolen mobile phone had reported the theft to the police, who traced Aljamie on CCTV footage, as he caught a bus to the airport and entered the shop where he pretended to browse its wares before stealing the salesgirl’s €659 mobile phone while she was distracted. The footage then showed him leaving the shop and catching another bus.

The defendant pleaded guilty to the charges. He told the court that he was unemployed and lived on social benefits.

He also said he could remember committing the theft, blaming depression and his mixing of alcohol with medication for causing him to not be aware of what he was doing.

But Magistrate Axiak observed that this was his Aljamie’s fourth brush with the law.

In addition to a 12-month prison sentence, the court imposed a three-year treatment order, together with a restraining order under which he was prohibited from approaching the victim.

Aljamie was also ordered to pay for the stolen mobile phone, being given 12 months to do so after the defence made a request to this effect.

Lawyer Yanija Bugeja represented the defendant as legal aid counsel. Inspector Roxanne Tabone prosecuted.