Young woman cleared of stealing from grandmother to buy drugs

A 21-year-old woman has been cleared of stealing money from her grandmother after the court found that the allegations against her could not be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.

Relatives of the girl reported her to the police after discovering that €800 she had deposited in her bank account had mysteriously dwindled to a balance of €5.

Relatives, including the grandmother, immediately suspected that the accused was behind the crime.

The court heard how the grandmother was out shopping with the accused, who it was claimed had probably snatched her grandmother’s credit cards and PIN from her handbag.

The accused’s mother also suspected she was behind the theft since the withdrawals that had sucked the bank account dry all happened through an ATM in Hamrun, where the accused was residing at the time.

The court, however, was “not at all convinced” and argued that both the mother’s and grandmother’s theories were “mere assumptions and suppositions”, which were not corroborated by evidence especially in the form of CCTV footage from the ATM sites. Nor was there any proof that the accused was actually living in Hamrun at the time, observed the court.

The court decided that it was not satisfied with the genuineness of the police report filed by the family and that the allegations had likely stemmed from an “unhappy and precarious” family situation that was trying to force the accused to seek help in combatting her drug problem.

The relative social agencies could only intervene when the person voluntarily sought help, which wasn’t forthcoming in this particular case.

Presiding magistrate Gabriella Vella decided that the accusations had not been proven beyond reasonable doubt and cleared the young woman from all charges.

Lawyers Franco Debono and Marion Camilleri were defence counsel.