A man charged with attempted theft said he accidentally broke a church window while sleeping on scaffolding set up three-storeys high against the Holy Trinity Church in Marsa.

He told court he never meant to break in. 

Hossam Amgad Anwar Aly Elnily, a 26-year-old Maltese national, said he was currently homeless. 

Dressed all in black, with paint-stained pants and shoes, he pleaded not guilty to attempted theft and wilful damage to third-party property. 

He was arrested on Wednesday evening sometime after 8.30pm by Marsa police who were alerted to the site when people heard a loud bang and the sound of shattered glass, explained prosecuting Inspector Sarah Kathleen Zerafa. 

Police officers spotted the accused on the third storey of the scaffolding set up in preparation for restoration works. He was called down and the parish priest, together with the church sacristan let the police officers into the church to determine the source of that shattering sound. 

That sound was traced to a large window leading to the church organ, high above the aisles.

The pane was broken at the centre and it seemed rather unlikely that the damage had been caused accidentally, said the prosecutor. 

The suspect was subsequently questioned. 

He insisted that he had been sleeping on that scaffolding for the past days so as to be ready for work in the morning. 

The youth told police that he was doing plastering works on the church façade. 

But when police checked that information with church officials, they were told that no works had yet begun. 

Only the scaffolding had been set up and it had to be certified before the project could get underway. 

Moreover, police later found the suspect’s bag of possessions, namely his clothes and documents, at nearby public toilets. 

The man’s defence lawyer contested the validity of the arrest, but after hearing the prosecution’s explanation, the court confirmed its validity.

Legal aid lawyer Martin Fenech requested bail, arguing that the prosecution had produced no evidence to rebut the accused’s statement that he had been working at the church. 

Next week, the accused was due to get a place at a shelter, added the defence. 

But AG lawyer Tilden Tabone countered that the accused had no fixed address and was not trustworthy. 

He had been previously convicted over several thefts from churches. 

After hearing submissions Magistrate Abigail Critien turned down the request since the accused had no fixed address.