Bail breaching moped thief 'not aware' he was on bail

A man has been jailed for 7 months and fined €2,800 for stealing a moped.

Inspector Kylie Borg charged Janis Caruana, 32, of Valletta, with the aggravated theft of the Piaggio Runner 125, as well as handling stolen goods and driving the moped without the owner’s permission.

A charge of driving it without a licence was dropped as it emerged that he had a licence, but had not renewed it

Caruana was further charged with keeping the moped on the road without a licence disc, altering the registration number and driving it without insurance cover.

He was also accused of breaching bail conditions for a previous offence.

Inspector Borg explained that the moped had been reported stolen last August and that Caruana had admitted to taking it from Sliema, swapping it’s number plates with those of a previously scrapped vehicle. The moped was eventually returned to its rightful owner.

He was arrested in January and had been released on police bail, after claiming to not be on bail for other offences. But after confirmation was sought he was found to have already been temporarily released from arrest under a number of conditions.

Caruana claimed that he had not been aware of the fact that he was on bail, but would “go and sign a bail book anyway.”

He pleaded guilty and was handed a 7-month prison sentence and a fine of €2,800.

Moreover, the court ordered the revocation of the accused’s bail and the confiscation of his €5,000 personal guarantee. He was further disqualified from holding a driving licence for six months.

Finally, the court gave Caruana three years from the date of his release to pay the fine in monthly installments of €75.

Lawyers Veronique Dalli, Dean Hili and Andrew Saliba were defence counsel.