Suspended sentence for man who stole €1,200 iPhone from Paceville clubber
Accused stopped by officers who were conducting surveillance inside club following pickpocketing claims
A 34-year-old man on Monday admitted to stealing an iPhone worth around €1,200 from a woman’s handbag in a Paceville nightclub.
Cosmin Bogdan Tofan, a Romanian national, was handed a suspended prison sentence.
The court was on Monday told that at around 00.45am on June 14, security camera footage captured a man wearing a green shirt marked with the number '84' behaving in a suspicious manner next to the victim.
He was seen dancing before suddenly stopping and walking towards the club’s exit. The footage appeared to show him in possession of the victim’s mobile phone.
Tofan was stopped by police officers who were conducting surveillance inside Toy Room following reports of pickpocketing incidents.
A search carried out on the accused revealed that he was in possession of a mobile phone that did not belong to him.
Subsequent investigations confirmed that the device had been stolen from the Swedish victim.
The defence noted that Tofan had entered an early guilty plea and requested a punishment other than imprisonment.
Magistrate Caroline Farrugia Frendo found him guilty and sentenced him to 18 months' imprisonment, suspended for three years.
The prosecution was led by Inspector Dylan Pace assisted by Attorney General lawyer Miryea Mifsud.
Lawyers Franco Debono, Fleur Abela and Adreana Zammit appeared for the accused.