Couple steal pouch at airport

Two Italians were conditionally discharged for six months and told off by Magistrate Jacqueline Padovani after they admitted to stealing a pouch containing €28 at Malta International Airport.

Magistrate Padovani heard Carlo Boschi, 55, and 57-year-old teacher Rita Ricci, both of Rome, admit to the charges brought against them.

Police Inspector Jason Agius told the court that the incident happened on Thursday as the couple were going through the X-ray procedure at the airport. They had been filmed on closed circuit television taking the pouch.

When airport officials confronted Mr Boschi, he initially denied taking anything, but when he was warned that the police would be called in, he took them to the restroom and showed them where he had thrown away the pouch after removing €28.

The court told the couple that their crime could have landed them in jail and criminal records were easily accessible throughout the EU, adding that they had therefore been playing with their livelihoods.

"Had you two been 16-year-olds I could have tried to understand your action, but you are mature people who are meant to set an example to the young," the magistrate told them.