A man charged with theft from a Ħamrun  eatery he used to work at, claimed on Friday he had only returned to retrieve his phone.

The man was chased and detained by his former employer, who also called the police on him.

His lawyer is claiming excessive force - as evidenced by his blood-stained top - during the citizen's arrest, but the man was denied bail after pleading not guilty to attempted theft.

Pakeetharan Khathirkamanathan, a 31-year-old Sri Lanka factory worker living in Marsa who also works in eateries in the evening, was arraigned hours after being detained by the fast food shop owners.

Prosecuting Inspector Andy Rotin told court on Friday that the call came through at around 5.30am on Friday from one of the owners of the restaurant on Schembri Street. 

They had allegedly come across their former employee inside their premises and chased after him when he fled the scene. 

Less than a month ago, the accused was arraigned over a string of alcohol and cash thefts from the same shop, the court was told. 

Defence lawyer David Bonello however argued that the accused had returned to the restaurant to retrieve his mobile phone which he claimed to be still in possession of his former employers. 

He also noted that the man had been found by police with a blood-stained t-shirt. That garment, exhibited as evidence in court, appeared to indicate excessive force by those who had detained him, pointed out the lawyer, minuting that the defence was reserving its position with respect to the citizens’ arrest.

Bonello asked the court to direct the police to investigate those involved in the accused’s arrest. 

Police had already questioned those individuals under caution and investigations into the incident were ongoing, the prosecution said. 

The accused was charged with attempted aggravated theft, committing the alleged offence during the operative term of a suspended sentence, unlawful entry into third-party premises as well as relapsing.

He pleaded not guilty.

A request for bail was objected to in view of the fact that this was not the accused’s first theft attempt, having already been charged with allegedly stealing from his former employer. 

Moreover, since the accused previously worked at the restaurant, there was a greater risk of tampering with evidence by trying to approach prosecution witnesses. 

And police were investigating the accused over some five other reports filed against him. 

The man’s lawyer countered that the charge of recidivism was unfounded since the conviction was still not final. 

Besides, the accused was beaten up by his former employers when he returned to retrieve his mobile phone and they could potentially face criminal charges that were more serious than those currently pressed against his client. 

After hearing submissions, the court, presided over by magistrate Josette Demicoli, turned down the request for bail since it deemed that the accused could not provide the necessary guarantees in terms of law and also in view of the possible fear of tampering with prosecution witnesses.