Maid handed suspended sentence after stealing ring worth €4,600

A maid was handed a two-year suspended sentence after admitting to stealing a diamond engagement worth €4,600 from a house in Luqa that she was working in.

Maria Teresa Ambinette, from Zejtun, was also ordered to pay the ring’s value to its original owners within six months, as well as €500 in court costs within three months

Ambinette told a court that she had stolen the ring because she was faced with financial difficulties after having separated from her husband and left with three children to raise, one of whom had medical problems. She added that she regretted her actions, but denied accusations that she had stolen further items of jewellery from the household.

The court ruled that only the theft of the ring could be proven, that the maid had no prior convictions, and that a prison sentence would render it difficult for her to pay the original owners back for the stolen ring.