A man foiled an attempt to rob his elderly mother when he saw an unfamiliar person in her house on CCTV, a court heard on Thursday.

The accused, a trans woman identified in court as Renald Falzon, was arraigned in front of Magistrate Astrid May Grima accused of attempted theft.

Police Inspector Sarah Kathleen Zerafa Zerafa told the court that a police report had come in in which a man had gone to the police to inform them that he had just stopped someone from trying to rob his mother.

The woman, who is close to 90 years old and suffers from dementia, lived in the apartment right beneath her son and he became aware that something was amiss when he heard the sound of someone else entering the home.

The man checked the CCTV camera he had installed in his mother’s home and saw that there was a person who looked like they were trying to evade his mother while she had her back turned.

He intervened and the woman left the premises.

Police said that the man had given them the footage and they were able to corroborate his version of events, as the CCTV showed that the accused had pretended to drop something on the floor next to a cupboard, bent down and stealthily opened the cupboard on her way up.

The footage then showed the accused taking a bag out of the cupboard and then placing it into her own bag.

Police were also able to identify Falzon from the footage and sought an arrest warrant before arresting her.

Falzon, 49, told the court that she does not work as she receives psychiatric treatment.

She pleaded not guilty to the charges.

The prosecution objected to a request for bail, saying that civilian witnesses still need to testify.

The defence argued that the court could impose sufficient conditions on the accused to prevent her from approaching witnesses.

He added that since the incident in question was captured on CCTV, there was no material risk that this evidence could be tampered with.

The court denied the bail request, saying it was not convinced that the accused was capable of sticking to court orders.

Falzon was remanded in custody.