A man admitted to stealing money from a Mosta wine bar after running out of funds since closing down his business in the COVID-19 outbreak.

Christopher Shepherd, a 49-year old Paola resident, was marched to court on Saturday morning after CCTV footage from the scene of the crime was uploaded on social media following the break in on Wednesday evening.

The suspect thief had helped himself to the cash in the till, taking some €150, the court was told.

The man was soon tracked down and arrested, admitting to his wrongdoing during his arraignment today.

He charged with aggravated theft as well as relapsing, with prosecuting Inspector Godwin Scerri explaining that although the accused had fully cooperated and was willing to refund the cash stolen, he had a rather “colourful” criminal record.

The man’s lawyer, Michele Cardinale, explained that the accused, who ran a car wash, had been forced to shut down his business in the current COVID-19 situation and had run out of funds.

Dr Cardinale suggested that a period of probation would be more adequate since the accused would get the necessary guidance without the risk of undoing the progress he had registered in recent years.

After hearing submissions by both parties the court, presided over by magistrate Audrey Demicoli, upheld the request for the drawing up of a pre-sentencing report, whilst granting the accused bail against a personal guarantee of €5,000 and an order to sign the bail book once a week.