Man charged after doctor’s stolen MacBook traced to Ħal Far

A 29-year-old man from Mali was arraigned on Thursday after a doctor’s stolen MacBook and iPhone were traced to a cabin he occupied at the Ħal Far Tent Village.

Mohamadou Fofana was charged before the court with knowingly receiving or purchasing stolen goods, after the devices belonging to a doctor were found in his possession two days after they went missing.

Inspector John Sammut told the court that the police were first alerted on 4 November, when the doctor reported at the Marsa Police Station that his iPhone and MacBook had vanished from his office at St Thomas Hospital in Qormi around 2.30 pm.

Using Apple’s Find My service, the doctor tracked the phone Marsa, but officers who searched the area found nothing. Later that day, the doctor and his father began receiving a series of 13 calls from an unknown number. The next morning, the tracking signal shifted to Ħal Far, where police located the device in cabin occupied by Fofana.

A search of the cabin uncovered two mobile phones, a Samsung and an iPhone, the latter confirmed to belong to Buhagiar.

The defence asked whether the accused had admitted to the offence, to which the prosecution replied that Fofana had met a man he knew only casually who offered to sell him a phone for €20, claiming he could not afford the €40 being asked. Fofana told officers he did not know the man’s name or number.

Legal aid lawyer Francois Dalli appeared for the accused, who pleaded not guilty.

During the sitting, Fofana appeared confused and visibly shaken.

When the magistrate explained his right to request bail, he initially replied “no”.

After his lawyer clarified the question, he changed his position and applied for release from custody.

The prosecution objected to bail, arguing that the accused had no fixed address in Malta. Inspector Sammut noted, however, that Fofana’s conduct was clean and he was not a recidivist.

Magistrate Rizzo observed that while the offences were not of the most serious kind, the absence of a stable residence posed a risk.

Bail was therefore refused.

Inspector John Sammut prosecuted.

Legal aid lawyer Francois Dalli appeared for the accused.

Magistrate Eliane Rizzo presided