Pregnant woman denied bail

A man and a pregnant woman were yesterday remanded in custody after they pleaded not guilty to stealing three cars and to fraud.

Amadeo Grima, 25, and Claire Cassar, 31, of Kalkara, pleaded not guilty to stealing three cars, stealing the registration plates of a fourth car and making a false declaration when they attached the plates to one of the stolen cars.

They also admitted to driving without an insurance cover and relapsing.

At the end of the sitting Dr Vincent Galea, for the accused, made a request for bail and called on the court to note that Ms Cassar was almost five months pregnant.

At that point Ms Cassar, who was sitting beside Mr Grima in the dock, spoke out and said she would like to have her baby outside prison.

Police Inspector Joseph Mercieca explained to the court that Ms Cassar had been in prison for about a month as she had been denied bail over another court case.

The inspector added that this was the first time he had been notified that she was pregnant.

After hearing submissions by both parties, Magistrate Joseph Apap Bologna took the circumstances into consideration and ruled that, at this stage, he had no choice other than to deny the request for bail.