A man has landed back behind bars after allegedly breaking into a neighbour’s home and stealing a television set and a DVD player to secure repayment of a €60 pending debt.
 
Anthony Borg, a 38-year old Senglea resident, stands accused of breaking into a neighbouring house on Sunday evening at around 6pm. 

The break-in was reported to the police by the neighbour and his mother.
 
Officers at the scene of the suspected robbery noticed signs of forced entry and found personal possessions strewn about the place, the court heard on Tuesday when Borg was arraigned.
 
Prosecuting Inspector Melvin Zammit told the court that CCTV footage together with a photograph supplied by the alleged victim helped police to identify the suspect.  

He pleaded not guilty to aggravated theft and wilful damage to third party property valued at less than €250.

Borg was also charged with breaching a probation order handed down in 2019, a suspended sentence delivered last year as well as bail conditions imposed by the Criminal Court in separate proceedings in March. 

His lawyer David Gatt argued that this appeared to be a case of exercising a pretended right. 
  
When asked by Gatt, the prosecutor confirmed that the alleged victim had several criminal cases and was known in police circles. 
 
Gatt argued that his client should be granted bail, as he had spent years behind bars and remanding him in custody would undo his past efforts.
 
Yet the court presided over by magistrate Gabriella Vella, stated that since the alleged victims were neighbours and still to testify in the proceedings, there was a real fear of tampering with evidence if the accused were to be granted bail. 
 
Consequently, the court turned down the request for bail.