A man poured out all his troubles in court on Friday during his arraignment about the theft of a silver ornament.
The organment was stolen from a jeweller’s store last month.
After consulting his legal aid lawyer, the 54-year-old San Ġwann resident was eager to admit to the alleged wrongdoing, telling the court his intention no sooner had the hearing got underway.
“Do you understand that you might get jail upon such admission, since it’s not your first time,” asked Magistrate Victor George Axiak.
“It’s been four years and it’s been very difficult for me to get back into society. Now I seem to have finally settled down,” replied the accused.
Asked to reconsider his plea, the man, who told the court of his full-time job as kitchen hand and dishwasher at a Sliema hotel, confirmed his admission.
“So what made you do this? You have a full-time job,” asked the magistrate, seeking to gain some insight into the circumstances of the case for the purpose of meting out punishment.
“I struggled with depression and even sought treatment… That day, I had just finished work. It was not intended. It was out of rage,” started the accused, explaining how the salesgirl at the shop had rushed after him, shouting and calling him “crazy” and “villain”.
There were customers in the shop when the accused entered, snatched a silver ornament, popped it into his bag and walked out.
“That salesgirl was aggressive,” he recalled on Friday.
Once back home that afternoon, he got palpitations and began to cry.
“The mind sometimes plays a lot of tricks. Sometimes you’re hardly able to understand yourself, then it clicks. I was in a panic at home. I was going to head back to the shop and leave it [the ornament] there. But I was afraid.”
Inspector Shamus Woods said that the prosecution’s intention was for the accused to reform himself and receive all necessary treatment.
“If he has any problems, then it’s about time he tackled them. This will surely be his last chance if he is spared jail,” argued the prosecutor.
Defence lawyer Yanika Bugeja, assisting as legal aid, pointed out that the accused had no malicious intent and the stolen item had been retrieved.
“He evidently needs a lot of help.”
The accused explained further that he lived alone and felt lonely. But he cooked and went to work.
“I give my word that I will make every effort to turn a page.”
In view of the fact that the stolen ornament was retrieved and the circumstances of the case, the court placed the accused under three-year probation and treatment orders.
That punishment would strike a balance between the rights of society and the interests of the accused, said the magistrate, warning the accused that this would be his last chance.