An infatuated 16-year-old girl who stole €30,000 worth of cash and gold from home to give to her former boyfriend was yesterday placed on probation while her 20-year-old boyfriend was remanded in custody.

The girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, admitted to stealing €15,000 in cash from her mother and her mother’s partner and when that ran out, stealing €16,305 in gold to give to her boyfriend.

Her lawyer, Veronique Dalli, said the man was her client’s first love and she placed him on a pedestal and foolishly opened her mouth about the amount of money and gold at the family home.

The boyfriend began asking her for money and she reacted by giving him some €5,000 each time. This all began when the girl was just 15, the lawyer added.

Dr Dalli informed the court that from the total amount, €2,000 actually belonged to the girl’s mother who wanted to renounce criminal action against her daughter.

Magistrate Claire Stafrace Zammit placed her under probation for three years after taking into consideration that the girl had cooperated with police and was prepared to testify in the case against him, as well as her age.

In a separate arraignment shortly afterwards, the man, who is not being mentioned to protect the identity of the girl, denied being an accomplice to the theft and then selling off the gold.

His lawyer Victor Scerri told the court that his client categorically denied the allegations against him but he was denied bail.