Three young men remanded in custody

Three young men were remanded in custody yesterday in separate cases involving charges of robbing relatives to finance a drug addiction and harassment.

The first case involved a drug addict who claimed he was due to start a drug rehabilitation programme on Wednesday, and pleaded not guilty to robbing his mother to finance his addiction.

Johann Calleja, 22, from Cospicua, was accused of threatening his 64-year-old mother, intimidating her to give him money and to stealing several objects from her house throughout last month. He was also accused of slightly injuring his mother, breaching the peace and swearing in public.

The prosecution officers told Magistrate Miriam Hayman that the mother of the accused was scared of her son. Magistrate Hayman denied his request for bail and remanded him in custody.

Police inspectors Jesmond Borg and Fabian Fleri prosecuted while Dr Richard Sladden appeared for the man.

The magistrate also ordered the prosecution to summon Caritas representatives to verify the man's claim that he was due to start the drug rehabilitation programme - he was warned he would face consequences if this was untrue.

In a similar case, Charlot Zammit, 22, from Luqa, pleaded guilty to stealing over €2,329 (Lm1,000) worth of jewellery on April 21, stealing his father's shotgun, and possessing the shotgun and ammunition without a licence and relapsing. The man, who confessed to being a drug addict, was remanded in custody pending judgment after pleading guilty to robbing his father to sustain his drug habit.

Police inspectors Daniel Zammit and Priscilla Caruana prosecuted while Dr Sladden appeared for the accused.

In the third case, a Sicilian man was also remanded in custody after pleading not guilty to harassing his former girlfriend after they broke up a few months ago.

Orazio Antonio Puglisi, 32, who lives in Marsascala, was accused of harassing and intimidating his former girlfriend, who he had lived with for the past three years. He was also accused of hurling stones at her residence and damaging her present partner's vehicle last month.

Mr Puglisi, who appeared before Magistrate Hayman, pleaded not guilty. He was denied bail after the court heard that he lived very close to his former girlfriend and did not have an alternative address.

The prosecution told the court that the accused did not want to accept the fact that his relationship was over and constantly said he was madly in love. He told police he was a very jealous person.

Magistrate Hayman gave his lawyers a week to inform the court about an alternative address. Police inspectors Jesmond Borg and Fabian Fleri prosecuted while lawyers Andy Ellul and Vince Micallef appeared for the accused. Lawyer Roberto Montalto appeared parte civile for the former girlfriend.