Court orders Libyan who stole wallet to survive, to repay victim

A Libyan man, who was arrested after trying to run away from police, has told a court that he stole a wallet because he had no other means to feed himself and was conditionally discharged this morning.

In the court of Magistrates, in Gozo, Police Inspector Bernard Spiteri charged 22-year-old Abdelwhab Elshagabi, from Benghazi, with having stolen a wallet and cash from a clothes shop in Victoria, Gozo on Wednesday morning.

He was also charged with handling stolen goods, disobeying legitimate police orders and endangering pedestrians by running.

Elshagabi pleaded guilty, telling the court that he had no job or means to purchase everyday items or food. However in spite of this, Magistrate Joanne Vella Cuschieri discharged him on condition that he repay the €60 which he had stolen, within six months.