Three homeless men were conditionally discharged for breaking into an abandoned private villa to seek shelter on a rainy day.

The incident, first reported as a failed robbery, turned out to be a humanitarian case with all three men, a 28-year-old US national and two Georgian brothers aged 28 and 24, admitting to breaking into the empty house after their term of residence at a social shelter had expired.

On Wednesday afternoon at around 3.45pm, police from the Ħamrun station were alerted to the presence of three strangers attempting to get into the property at Triq il-Kaless, Santa Venera.

Officers answering the call came across three men who had smashed a window pane to gain entry into the property. 

Prosecuting inspector Matthew Galea explained that later investigations revealed that the men’s sole intention had been to shelter inside the premises once they had ended up homeless, until they received a month’s pay. 

The three squatters were arraigned on Friday, pleading guilty to having violated private property, causing damage that amounted to less than €10. One of the men was also charged with being an accomplice.

Inspector Galea informed the court, presided over by magistrate Gabriella Vella, that the owner of the property had renounced to any claim for damages caused in the break-in.

Defence lawyer Charmaine Cherrett explained that the three accused had had no intention to steal, had caused merely €5 in damages and that the owner of the villa, inside which there had been no valuables, had no intention to press for damages.

In the light of such circumstances, the court declared the men guilty upon their own admission, conditionally discharging them for one year whilst warning them not to breach the court order.