Bulgarian handed suspended sentence for loitering

A 26-year-old Bulgarian woman had been handed a two-month prison sentence, suspended for a year, after she admitted to loitering in Gzira for the purposes of prostitution.

Vice Squad Inspector Joseph Busuttil told a court presided by magistrate Aaron Bugeja how Galina Ivanova had been approached by officers during a patrol in Gzira. Ivanova claimed to have lost her identificaiton documents, however the prosecution explained that neither had she reported them as missing.

Around a month before her arrest, the woman had received a police caution after being spotted loitering in the Marsa area, explained the police Inspector.

Ivanova pleaded not guilty to loitering, disobeying police orders and failing to report the loss of her identification documents to the police.

Legal aid lawyer Joe Ellis entered a plea of guilty on behalf of the accused.

In view of her admission during the early stages of proceedings, as well as her clean criminal record, the court should be lenient towards his client, he argued.

The court sentenced Ivanova to two months imprisonment, suspended for one year.