Court jails bag thief

A mother who took a dose of heroin "when she should have been giving breakfast to her two-year-old daughter" was imprisoned for 26 months after pleading guilty to nine thefts.

When she was arraigned on Wednesday, Police Inspector Anthony Portelli said the woman's habit was so bad she put it before her own child's welfare. He said that the 39-year-old mother had actually taken a dose at 7 a.m. on Tuesday "when she should have been giving breakfast to her two-year-old daughter".

She stole hand-bags from nine different shops and then used the credit cards she found inside the bags to purchase items to fuel her heroin addiction. The thefts took place between December 18 last year and March 6.

Magistrate Audrey Demicoli jailed her after taking into consideration the long list of charges and the fact that she admitted to the charges at an early stage of the proceedings.