Woman pleads guilty to theft from pharmacy in Qormi

Josloann Cassar from Bormla was arraigned in court on Tuesday and pleaded guilty to simple theft from a pharmacy in Qormi.

The amount did not exceed the value of €232.92.

The 31-year-old was also charged with being a recidivist, as she had previous convictions.

The theft occurred on 6 April.

Whilst committing the theft, the owner caught her in the act. He immediately recovered the stolen items from her handbag and took note of her identity.

She willingly gave her phone number to the owner, who informed the police of the incident but she had already left the scene.

Inspector James Mallia explained that she didn’t go to the police station immediately. He went to her residence to look for her but she was not there. Mallia later saw her approaching the residence and arrested her.

She plead guilty and confirmed her admission.

A pre-sentencing report was requested by the defence and a probation officer was appointed.

Bail was requested but the prosecution heavily objected. The defence referenced the fact that she is a mother of five children and mentioned the possibility of supervised bail. The defence also requested that if bail is granted, “her means are reflected in the bail conditions”.

The bail request was upheld against a €500 deposit and a €2,000 personal guarantee.

She was granted bail in light of her early admission and since the value of the stolen items only amounted to approximately €70. She was warned of the conditions imposed upon her, including signing the bail book twice weekly and a curfew between 8pm and 7am was imposed. 

“If you ignore the orders of the probation officer, you will be back here”, the Magistrate told her.

The sitting was presided over by Magistrate Jean Paul Grech.

Inspector James Mallia prosecuted.

Defence lawyers Franco Debono, Adreana Zammit, Marion Camilleri, Anthea Bonnici Zammit appeared for Cassar.