A former salesgirl who is accused of stealing money from her boss’s outlets in Bay Street was granted bail after pleading not guilty upon arraignment on Thursday.
Cristina Amenta, a 34-year old Sicilian who has been living and working in Malta for six years, was first confronted by her boss a few months ago after cash discrepancies were noticed at the company’s outlets.
Prosecuting Inspector Eman Hayman said her employer ran checks to verify those discrepancies and also checked CCTV footage which allegedly showed the suspect taking cash on two consecutive days.
Some €1,010 were allegedly stolen on December 29, while €605 and €60 were taken the following day. The staff roster showed that the suspect was working on those dates.
When confronted by her boss, the woman denied involvement.
The matter was reported to the police, who could not immediately arrest Amenta because she could not be found.
She was, however, spotted at a Paceville establishment on Wednesday and the police were alerted.
A warrant for her arrest, which was issued in January and had since expired, was immediately renewed by the duty magistrate and the woman was arrested.
On being arraigned on Thursday she pleaded not guilty to three charges of aggravated theft.
Her lawyer, Thomas Barbara Sant, requested bail, arguing that the accused was presumed innocent, had an untainted criminal record and had been living in Malta for the past six years.
She had a fixed address where she had been staying since last August.
“I’m quite surprised that police said that they could not find her,” he remarked.
The lawyer observed that CCTV footage from the shop was preserved and even though she had been confronted by her boss over the theft allegations in December, she had not attempted any tampering.
AG lawyer Nicole Marie Sladden objected to bail because of the fear of tampering, the very early stage of proceedings and the fact that civilians still have to testify. Moreover, the accused told police that she was “coming and going” when asked about her position in Malta.
It was “mere coincidence” that she was found, said the inspector.
Magistrate Ann Marie Thake granted bail after taking note of the accused’s untainted record, her fixed address and the fact that she had been living in Malta for six years.
However, she was ordered to submit any travel documents in court and cannot leave Malta. Nor can she approach or contact any company staff.
She was also ordered to sign the bail book twice daily, abide by a curfew between 9pm and 6am, deposit €2000 and bind herself under a personal guarantee of €5,000.