A barman and two helpers yesterday admitted to stealing around €12,000 in cash over a six-month period from a bar in Paceville in a simple but effective scam.

The barman, a 24-year-old from Sliema, would charge customers of Bar Native for drinks but when it came to punching the sum in to the cash register, he would enter a lesser amount and pocket the difference. Over the course of six months, earlier this year, he managed to squirrel away €10,000.

The two helpers, Maltese-Canadian Valerie Camilleri, 29, and Latvian Danats Smons, 21, would be given a small amount every now again by him, adding up to around €2,000.

All three pleaded guilty yesterday to stealing the money from the bar.

Defence lawyer Joe Giglio told the court that his client had in fact repaid the bar owner €1,500 so far and would settle the entire bill by December.

In the case of the other two, lawyer George Cutajar, appearing for the owners, told the court that Mr Smons was the person who blew the lid off the operation. As regards Ms Camilleri and Mr Smons, while there was an obligation for them to pay the money back, there was no court order to do so.

Magistrate Antonio Micallef Trigona conditionally discharged the two for a year, while he deferred the case to December, once the money had been paid back.

Updated January 2, 2023: This article was amended following a data privacy request. For more information please contact editor@timesofmalta.com