A hawker charged with selling fake Dolce e Gabbana and Chanel clothes smiled as he was granted bail yesterday despite breaching bail and a conditional discharge in similar cases in the past.

Police Inspector James Grech protested against bail being given, stressing that the man was a repeat offender who never listened to the police and kept on trading in counterfeit clothes with impunity. Indeed, in the charge sheet, the prosecution asked that bail granted in a previous case in connection with the sale of counterfeit items be revoked.

However, Magistrate Edwina Grima decided to grant the man bail against a deposit of €1,000 and a personal guarantee of €10,000.

After she read out the bail conditions, the man, 41-year-old Charles Sammut of Pietà, smiled and winked at another man sitting two benches behind him in the public gallery.

One of the arguments put forward by his lawyer, Malcolm Mifsud, for bail was that his client was being singled out. He said there was another person who could face similar charges but never does because "some people seem to be untouchable".

Mr Sammut was charged with selling fake goods and relapsing.

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