Fraudster's plea to court saying she could be pregnant

A fraudster yesterday pleaded with a court not to remand her in custody because she might be pregnant and being in prison was not an ideal situation.

Alexia Cross, 29, no stranger to the courts having received three suspended jail terms and a three-year probation period in 2007 for fraud, was charged with stealing cheques. She allegedly stole the cheques from a shop in Qormi and then used one of them to rent a car.

Defence lawyer Michael Sciriha asked the court not to remand her in custody as she might be pregnant.

But Police Inspector Angelo Gafà said it was just another tall story as she had informed him last week that she had miscarried.

After taking into consideration the arguments and the alleged crime, Magistrate Michael Mallia decided to remand the accused in custody. At this point, Ms Cross pleaded with the magistrate not to put her in section A of the women's prison wing claiming that the last time she was there she had been beaten up by another inmate.

The court said it would make a recommendation to the prison director because such a decision was not within the court's jurisdiction.