A jobless asylum seeker who stole a mobile phone, a speaker and clothes over a three-day span was jailed on Wednesday after one of his victims spotted him walking in the street.

Alataya Abdelazim Omer Ibrahim, a 23-year old Sudanese resident at Hal Far Open Centre, stole an iPhone worth €1,300 and a Bluetooth speaker worth €45 belonging to a Valletta restaurant on January 5.

Three days later he stole clothes from two Sliema stores.

The suspected thief was clearly visible on CCTV footage from the Valletta restaurant but his identity was initially unknown, the court was told.  But he was tracked down after the restaurant owner spotted him in Sliema. The clothes found in his possession turned out to have been stolen.

The man was arrested and arraigned in court where he admitted to the theft of electronic equipment and the clothes.

He told police that he stole the clothes because he was “feeling cold” and had nowhere to live.

Assisted by an interpreter and a legal aid lawyer, he registered an admission and the court, presided by magistrate Victor George Axiak, condemned him to an 8-month effective jail term.

AG lawyer Manuel Grech prosecuted together with inspectors Gabriel Micallef and Daryl Borg.

Lawyer Martin Fenech was legal aid counsel.