Heavy prison sentence for thieving father-son duo

A father and son have been slapped with considerable jail sentences after they were found guilty of the attempted theft of a number of objects from a Marsa factory last November.

46-year-old Keith Joseph Mallia and his 19-year-old son Mario had denied the charges brought against them. The pair, a transporter and a salesman, had been caught red-handed stealing equipment from the factory in the dead of night after the police received an anonymous tip-off. The court heard how the person who called the police said they heard heavy machinery being moved around. Police officers who went on site found the two men and signs that machines had been moved.

Mallia junior and senior, both of whom have had a number of previous run-ins with the law, were charged with attempted theft, breaking into the factory premises and causing damage to third party property. The father was also charged with driving a vehicle with an expired licence and for breaching the conditions of a suspended sentence. His son was also accused with relapsing.

After seeing their criminal record and dismal attendance of meetings with probation officers – 24 sessions out of 34 were missed - Magistrate Joe Mifsud was inclined to pull no punches, giving the men a piece of his mind while sentencing them.

“Like father, like son. How long are you going to take the mickey out of society?” he thundered. The father was dragging his son down the path of evil, added the magistrate. Berating them for thinking themselves “untouchables”, the court said the accused “need to understand that they need to help themselves.”

With a number of suspended sentences being rendered active, Keith Mallia was jailed for a total of 4 years and 7 months, his son being jailed for a total of 2 years and 9 months

The sum of €19,500 was confiscated from the father and €2,500 from the son for their breaches of bail conditions. The car used in the commission of the crime was also confiscated.

Their lawyers informed the court that the men would be filing an appeal.

Inspector Hubert Cini led the prosecution while lawyers Franco Debono, Amadeus Cachia and Yanika Vidal appeared for the accused