Dog thieves to do community service

Three men were yesterday ordered to do 50 hours of community service each after they admitted to stealing nine husky dogs belonging to Grace Borg and her daughter Sarah.

The dogs were stolen by James Pace, 26, Benua Camilleri, 20, and another man who cannot be named because he was a minor at the time of the crime.

The dogs were stolen from a farm in Magħtab last April. Since they have since been sold by the men, not all of them could be traced and the others have become used to their new owners.

Mrs Borg and her daughter said they were willing to accept payment for the dogs since they could not be returned. The three have paid Mrs Borg €1,000 each.

Magistrate Consuelo Scerri Herrera said she considered that two of the accused were first-time offenders and Mr Pace had a single conviction for which he was placed under a three-month probation.

The court heard a probation officer, Miriam Sevasta, recommend community service in order to promote the concept of restorative justice. The magistrate also placed them under probation for three years.