Elderly man injured in Qormi while chasing thief

An elderly man has suffered facial injuries after chasing a thief who stole a €20 note from his hands in the street.

This emerged as Anne Axiak, 48, was arraigned before magistrate Rachel Montebello by inspectors Fabian Fleri and Kylie Borg earlier today.

Axiak, who is homeless and has a drug problem, had allegedly snatched the banknote outside a bakery in Qormi where the 67-year-old man had gone to buy bread. The victim had chased Axiak but had then tripped, ending up with mouth injuries, police said.

In court today, lawyer Joe Brincat was appointed as legal aid to the accused.

Axiak pleaded not guilty to the charges of simple theft and breaching her bail conditions by not signing her bail book for weeks.

Inspector Fleri told the court that the last time the woman had signed the register was on 14 August 2019 and that she had also, on occasion, failed to sign it before then.

Brincat asked for bail, saying that if the woman is released she would reside with her mother at Zabbar.

But the prosecution objected to the request, pointing out that the victim was a vulnerable elderly person who is yet to testify. The accused had also breached previous bail conditions by having failed to sign her bail book around 15 times, said Fleri, adding that there was a lack of clarity with respect to her address.           

Brincat urged the court to grant bail, saying a workable solution could be found as the court had done in the past.

The court, however, after hearing the submissions on bail, denied the request and ordered the woman to be remanded in custody, saying it was not convinced that the accused had a fixed address, as well as due to the nature of the charges.