A man who admitted to stealing an electric bicycle which was parked outside the Żebbuġ local council on Monday has been handed a suspended sentence and will be forced to leave the country.  

Daniel Appau, a 30-year old unemployed Ghanaian national, got more than he bargained for since he not only landed a conviction but will be removed from Malta and sent back to Italy after he was found to have overstayed his residence permit.

Prosecuting Inspector Alfredo Mangion explained how the bicycle, worth €2,500, had disappeared in broad daylight after its owner, local councillor Steve Zammit Lupi, had parked it outside the council offices on Frans Sammut Street, Żebbuġ.

The suspect thief, “a dark-skinned man living right opposite the local council premises”, was subsequently confronted by the owner of the bike who, within an hour or so of the theft, had retrieved his stolen property, the court was told.

After confirming his guilty plea, the man was handed a 13-month jail term suspended for two years after magistrate Natasha Galea Sciberras was informed that the bike had been returned after a short while, that the accused had a clean criminal record and had cooperated with the police.

Lawyer George Anton Buttigieg was defence counsel.