Luck runs out for man who avoided prison 50 times

A man’s incredible feat of avoiding jail, in spite of being convicted 50 times, has finally been brought to an end after a magistrate sentenced him to three years’ imprisonment.

Magistrate Marseanne Farrugia heard Charles Sammut, 47, admit to committing several burglaries in 2009, after Inspectors Elton Taliana and Carlos Cordina charged him with multiple counts of of aggravated theft, receiving stolen goods and relapsing.

The magistrate noted that Sammut had precisely fifty previous convictions, including ones for attacking and threatening police officers and driving offences, as well as two convictions for maritime offences and one for falsifying a trademark.  

The magistrate also noted that Sammut had failed to fulfil his promise of reimbursing his victims, paying back only €4,500 out of the €13,500 he owed and had only admitted to the charges after stolen items were found in his possession.

Amazingly, in spite of this vast and varied criminal record, Sammut had somehow managed to elude being handed a custodial sentence, receiving no less than seven conditional discharges. 

But Sammut's streak had reached its end. The sheer number of convictions showed that Sammut had no respect towards the law, the authorities or society at large, said the magistrate. “Therefore, the time has come for him to be taught a lesson.”