A man who was denied bail after being accused of theft from a car was slapped with a fine of €200 for contempt of court on Wednesday after he muttered his displeasure in court about the magistrate's decision.

Michael Azzopardi, 38 of Cospicua was arrested on Tuesday afternoon in Qormi after having been allegedly caught red-handed.

Two plainclothes policemen saw the man crouching beside a car which had a smashed window.

He was chased, searched and found to be in possession of a pair of sunglasses and some distinctive coins which the owner subsequently identified.

Azzopardi pleaded not guilty to aggravated theft, handling stolen items as well as damaging third party property. He was also charged with recidivism.

A request for bail was objected to by prosecuting Inspector Roderick Agius who argued that not only was there a crucial eyewitness who was still to testify, but the accused was untrustworthy. He needed a disciplined environment to help him overcome his drug problem, the prosecutor went on.

Defence lawyer Raisa Colombo rebutted that the accused was a Maltese national with a fixed residence and that he should not be denied bail just because he was a relapser.

However Magistrate Joseph Mifsud said the courts had to strike a balance between the rights of the accused and those of society.

“It pains me to see that although our courts protect the rights of the accused, as they should, you have persons who still choose to break the law and disregard the direction given by the courts to the same individuals who need help.”

He said the trauma suffered by victims of crime was often disregarded and the time had come for society to be protected without distinction, age or race.

He, therefore, turned down the request for bail.

As the disgruntled accused was being led away, muttering under his breath in spite of having been warned to keep his comments to himself, the magistrate called him back and said he would not tolerate such behaviour.

Magistrate Mifsud said that such behaviour amounted to contempt of court, thus ordering the accused to pay a €200 fine.