A young shop assistant who admitted to helping himself to his employer’s earnings to settle pending debts was given a suspended sentence and ordered to reimburse the €12,000 stolen.

Klinsmann Grixti, a 22-year-old Valletta resident, landed under suspicion following a call from the bank alerting his employer that the money handed over in an envelope for deposit purposes, did not tally with the figure written on the envelope.

That call set the alarm bells ringing and the woman consulted footage to confirm the suspected foul play.

Different footage soon revealed how, on more than one occasion, her employee had helped himself to the money in her handbag, her car and office at the car company where he worked.

The youth was arrested and charged with aggravated theft to the tune of €12,211 committed over a span of two months.

His lawyer, José Herrera, explained that the accused’s father had died in tragic circumstances and that episode had impacted his young son. 

The accused had worked diligently for the past five years and only erred recently when facing difficulties in settling a pending debt. 

“This was his first wrongdoing. This is the classic case where the person can still be reintegrated into society,” argued Herrera, pointing out that the accused had a good job and proper schooling. 

“Is there some underlying problem?” asked Magistrate Natasha Galea Sciberras. 

“He made a mistake. But there doesn’t seem to be any drug problem,” replied the defence lawyer. 

Lawyer René Darmanin, appearing on behalf of the alleged victim, declared that the victim was “not after a pound of flesh”.

The accused pleaded guilty to theft aggravated by value after other aggravating factors and the charge of attempted theft were withdrawn by the prosecution.

After hearing submissions and after having duly warned the accused that the offence carried a maximum possible jail term of seven years, the court declared him guilty and condemned him to a two-year jail term suspended for four years.

When meting out punishment, the court took note of the fact that the accused had cooperated fully with investigators, had a clean criminal record and also that the prosecution did not insist upon an effective term of imprisonment. 

The court ordered the accused to reimburse the stolen sum within six months. In view of the serious nature of the charges and the value of the sum stolen, the court also placed the accused under a two-year supervision order. 

Inspector Janetta Grixti prosecuted.