A man spent €5,000 on jewellery and ran up a €2,000 bill on groceries and other items before ordering a slap-up meal at a Chinese restaurant... paying by cheque despite not having a cent in his bank account.

Jonathan Triganza, 37, pleaded guilty to fraud and was yesterday given a suspended sentence for his spending spree.

Magistrate Antonio Micallef Trigona heard that on and before January 27, he visited a string of jeweller's shops - Vascas, Sterling, Classic, Diamond's International and Mediterranean Diamonds - buying a total of €5,000 worth of items.

He then purchased groceries and other goods from Arkadia food store, Scotts supermarket and the Gala shopping centre, this time writing cheques totalling €2,000.

Police Inspector Angelo Gafà told the court that Mr Triganza defrauded the shops by using his chequebook when there were no funds available in his account.

Mr Triganza faced up to seven years in jail but the magistrate handed down a two-year jail term suspended for four years after taking into consideration his early guilty plea and his cooperation with the police.