Hi-fi theft lands man in jail for fourth time in a row

A Libyan whose criminal record dates back to 1997 was jailed yesterday for the fourth time after he admitted to stealing hi-fi equipment from a transit van.

This is not the first time Abdul Baset Dabia, 39, has come under the long arm of the law. In 2005, he spent a year in jail after assaulting four police officers and in 2006 he was imprisoned for driving a vehicle without a licence.

A more unusual incident occurred in 2006 when Mr Dabia connected his home electricity supply to the supply from a lamp post. He had received a one-year suspended jail term.

He is serving a 15-month jail term after making use of counterfeit bank notes and relapsing and was yesterday jailed by Magistrate Lawrence Quintano for another year.

The court heard how Mr Dabia had stolen the hi-fi equipment in November last year from a transit van in Żurrieq. Before handing down judgment, the court took into account the fact that he had admitted to the charges at an early stage of the proceedings and had cooperated with the police.

Police Inspector Raymond Cassar prosecuted. Lawyer Mark Busuttil appeared for Mr Dabia.